Area high school students play with community band
Each year, a number of musically qualified high school students play with the Hot Springs Concert Band. Five high school students are playing with the band this fall.
Three Fountain Lake students currently play with the band. Senior Katy Hope plays clarinet and is a HSCB veteran. Senior Byron Louk, who plays French horn, is a new member of the community band, as is C.J. Burton, who plays in the percussion section.
Jacob Happy is a bari-saxophone player who is a junior at Lakeside High School. Happy is also a new member of the band.
Clarinet player Hannah Smoke, who is also a veteran of Hot Springs Concert Band, attends school in Bismarck.
Performing in the Hot Springs Concert Band provides several advantages for young players, a news release said.
They get to play with accomplished adult musicians because half the adults have college majors or minors in music, and the majority of adult members have worked professionally in the music industry. They also have the opportunity to play under the baton of a nationally recognized university professor, Craig Hamilton, Lena Trimble Professor of Music at Ouachita Baptist University.
The students also broaden their repertoire by playing music that they are not exposed to in high school and, because HSCB plays nine concerts per year, they increase the number of times they perform in public venues, building both confidence and college resumes.
HSCB welcomes accomplished area high-school students to email band President Bruce Harvey at bharvey.hscb@gmail.com to learn more about joining the band.