Music in the air
Bands shine at CMEA showcase at PHS
CMEA 2023 Porterville middle school bands and orchestras played on Thursday, March 2, starting at around 8:00 am with a warm up and then a performance by the middle schools across the Central Valley.
Woodlake Valley Middle School Bengal band played before Porterville’s Bartlett Middle School and was impressive. Other middle schools from Visalia, Farmersville, Strathmore, and Sanger played before and after the intermittent Porterville middle schools.
Porterville Bartlett Middle School Bobcat Band led by band leader Travis Williams played Wings To The Mind by Brian Balmages, which was melodic and uplifting followed by the very calm and quiet Be Still, My Soul arranged by Robert W. Smit. Burnin Hot by Gary P. Gilroy finished off the Bobcats set with a scintillating march with a syncopation and a great xylophone riff.
Summit Charter Intermediate Academy (SCIA) Concert Band led by director Stephen Smith has performed twice due to the pandemic, and he said the students would be very nervous and excited because the CMEA is a new experience for them.
They performed “Woodlands Celebration” by Ron Arnon, “which is a wonderful festival piece that explores many different dynamic levels, harmonies, and articulations,” said Smith. “And Gentle River” by Rob Grice, a slow, lyrical piece that tries to musically depict the beauty of a gently flowing river, and finally “Summit March” by Harold Bennett, arranged by Larry Clark. Which is a traditional style march with three separate sections and many different techniques to show off the skills of the band members” They sounded superb.
CMEA announcer for the day was Joseph Ayala, the talented Panther Band Drum Major, who
said it was really amazing to see all these wonderful bands and musicians perform.
“As someone who intends to become a music educator, it really puts a smile on my face to see that music education is here to stay!”
Pioneer Middle School Mustang band with band director Adrian Martinez played “Above and Beyond,” composed by James Swearingen, “Midnight Sky” composed by Brian Balmages was lovely, melodious and peaceful, and “Guardians of Liberty” composed by Paul Murtha was an exciting piece of music.
After an afternoon lunch break the huge 85 member Sequoia Middle School Concert Band with band director Richard Madrigal performed “Lexington March” by John Edmonson, and a soothing “At Twilight” by Tyler S. Grant, , followed by and adventurous and thrilling “Andromeda Overture” written by Mark Williams.
The Burton Bulldog band with Band Director Jack Amaral performed a resplendent “Of Distant Peaks” written by Robert Sheldon, followed by “We Will Remember” by Gary Fagan which is dedicated to the victims and heroes at Virginia Tech on April 16 2007, and “Afterburn,” written by Randall Standridge, which sounded like a rocket getting ready to take off. Really interesting.
Family, friends, teachers, and music professionals all attended the CMEA and enthusiastically applauded all the bands,
Michael Freed, a PHS Math teacher said, “It’s refreshing to see large middle school bands because that
Will keep our high school bands strong.”
The Vivas Mendiola Family all cheered Burton Middle School Bulldog Band member Benjamin Vivas, and said, “We are very proud of him and all the hard work he puts into his music.”
The Central Valley Christian Cavalier Band gave a fantastic tight performance of some very interesting and creative music using a wonderful variety of instruments as well as the percussion using the musicians hands.
All the bands and small orchestras did a marvelous job, and everyone should be commended for their professionalism and creativity.