Panther Band Concert is Friday
First one for new director Keele
The 65th Annual Porterville High School Panther Band Concert will take place Friday at 8 p.m. at the Frank “Buck” Shaffer Stage inside the Porterville Memorial Auditorium, and first-year director Clark Keele says the show will be a combination of Panther Band traditions and adventurous new material.
“We’ve got some really exciting stuff. People who have been coming to Panther Band concerts for a long time will still recognize this as the Panther Band and we’re not shaking things up too much, but there will be some new and exciting pieces the band has never played before.”
One departure from traditional Panther Band fare will be a piece entitled “Foundry” by contemporary composer John Mackey, which will feature some unusual percussion instruments.
“The piece was written in 2011 for ‘found percussion’ and band. That literally means items that you find,” said Keele. “They’ll be hitting on empty propane cylinders, pieces of angle iron, car brake drums and exhaust pipes, all sorts of fun things and some new and unique sounds.”
Keele added that the band wasn’t sure how to react when they first played the piece.
“We played maybe the first 15 measures or so and I stopped the band. They looked at me as if to say, ‘Are you sure you know what you’re doing with this?’” said Keele. “But after another 10 minutes or so they really got the feel of it. Now they’re really enjoying it.”
The band will also be playing the three pieces that earned them another Superior rating at this year’s CMEA Music Festival: “The Black Horse Troop” by John Philip Sousa, “With Quiet Courage” by Larry Daehn, and “Overture to a New Age” by Jan de Haan.
“Variations on a Korean Folk Song” by John Barnes Chance is a long-time staple of the Panther Band library, and “Irish Tune from County Derry” by Percy Grainger is a stirring rendition of the familiar song most know as “Londonderry Air (Oh Danny Boy).”
Around 12 years ago the three Porterville high school bands began a rotating arrangement for their spring concerts to make better use of the auditorium facilities.
It just so happens that in Keele’s first year as director the Panther Band goes first in that rotation, and the April 20 concert will be the earliest in the band’s history.
“That’s just the way the timing worked out. Historically the Panther Band Concert was always the first Friday in May, but that wasn’t really fair use of the auditorium when there’s two other high school bands in town,” he said.
Keele would have liked the extra time to prepare for his first concert, but he also sees the early performance as a learning opportunity for the band.
“It’s been a good opportunity to challenge the students and see how quickly they can learn the music,” he added.
When asked if there will be any changes to the traditional Panther Band finale that features theme songs from all branches of the armed services and John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever,” Keele was definitive in his response.
“Absolutely not. Our finale is one of those things that makes the Panther Band what it is,” he said. “There are things that can change, but that finale will not be touched.”
As the days count down to the biggest Panther Band performance of the year and Keele’s first atop the conductor’s podium, he admits he has some nerves, but the hard work put in by his students all year has helped ease his mind.
“The kids are doing really well and they’ve worked hard, and that’s really helping me relax and have confidence in their preparation,” he said. “They’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do, and they’ve done the things they need to do to put on a good concert.”