A whirlwind of sound
Second day of band festival kicks off at PHS
The second day of the Porterville CMEA Band Festival kicked off in high gear on Friday morning at the PHS auditorium. Six bands played in the morning half of the festival, the first of which received a standing ovation.
The Strathmore High School and Harmony Magnet Academy joint band, also known as the Spartan Band, filled the auditorium with clean, precise sound. The band played three pieces, and the student musicians bobbed to the beat with each of their breaths. Under the direction of Nicholas Walters, the Spartan Band entertained the crowd with ‘Azalea City March’ by R. Alan Carter, ‘Rainbow in the Clouds’ by Carol Brittin Chambers and finished with ‘Imaginary’ by Randall Standridge.
“Our performance was amazing,” said Walters. “Every performance we do is amazing. Every time they go out and play it’s amazing. Every time we walk off the stage it isn’t about the score we’re getting. It’s that they walk off the stage knowing they can be proud of themselves. Every year we walk off proud, and this year I walked off the stage proud. They’re just the greatest group of kids and I’m so proud of them.”
By the end of their performance the audience was on their feet with applause.
“My students are fabulous, and I’m going to cry here in a second,” said Walters. “They just keep giving. They give and give and give. We get sad together. We get happy together. We rejoice together, and they just still keep giving.”
Next to grace the stage was the Mcfarland High School Early College concert band who also shared three pieces with the audience. The band was small but effective
and filled every inch of the room with music.
The Porterville Military Academy Drum and Bugle Corps made their debut on the PHS auditorium stage Friday morning. With direction from Patience Christenson, the drum and bugle corps began with ‘Wings to the Mind’ by Brian Balmages, followed by ‘Gentle Winds’ by Timothy Loest and ended with ‘Saratoga March’ by Russell Holland.
“I think the kids worked really hard and this was a great first experience for them,” said Christenson.
Following PMA was the Carl Smith Middle School concert band from Terra Bella. Donning maroon and black uniforms, the band played a clean and harmonic set of three pieces. Under the direction of Ricardo Stevens, the middle school band began with playing ‘Land of the Lost Zombies’ by Rob Grice. Their second piece was ‘Soundscape’ by Bill Calhoun and the band finished with ‘Admiration March’ by Larry Clark.
After a short break, the Harmony Magnet Academy symphony orchestra hit the stage to share two pieces they’ve been rehearsing with the crowd. With some fine tuning before they began, and under the direction of Zander Smith and Nicholas Walters, the orchestra silenced the crowd with their renditions of ‘Echoes of Time’ by Douglas E. Wagner and ‘A Matador’s Tale’ by Mark Lortz.
The Madera High School band followed the symphony orchestra with three pieces of their own.
Rounding out the local Porterville schools for the morning part of the second day of the Porterville CMEA band festival was the Summit Collegiate High School band under the direction of Donna Steigleder, who is set to retire in the near future. The band hit their notes precisely and had identifiable highs and lows in their volume.
In their green and black band uniforms, the students entertained the crowd with their opening piece titled ‘His Honor’ by Henry Fillmore. The band went with a soft and slow second piece titled ‘Balladair’ by Frank Erickson, and finished with an explosion of sound with their rendition of ‘Into the Storm’ by Robert Smith.
The first half of the second day of the festival finished off with the Exeter High School band before breaking for lunch.
To start off the afternoon, the marvelous Monache High School Marauder Band led by Justin Adams played a rousing rendition of John Philip Sousa’s Sound Off March, followed by They Led My Lord Away, written by Adorniram J. Gordon, arranged by Fred J Allen, which was haunting, atmospheric and emotional.
MHS Bands last presentation was Flying Over Dreams, written by Alexander Mabeix, arranged by Jermoe Naulais, and all you could say was Wow! It was a very impressive performance.
After local High School bands from Farmersville, Woodlake, and Corcoran had excellent performances, Porterville High School Panther Band, led by band director Clark Keele performed His Honor written by Henry Fillmore.
Their second piece of music was the fabulous American classic, Shenandoah, arranged by Frank Ticheli, followed by The Witch and The Saint written by Steven Reineke, which was full of many sound levels, very dramatic, intriguing and dynamic. Another superb and impressive performance by the huge PHS Band!
After their performance Band Director Keele, thanked the audience, and the CMEA judges at Buck Shaffer Auditorium.
At press time the ratings for the various area bands weren’t available.