Photo Credit: Maddie Norwood[/caption]The Orange High School band took the stage for a fall performance on November 24, leaving the audience stunned and appreciative of the music provided by the students. Under the direction of band director Andy Carter, the Fall Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble both performed wonderful pieces that clearly showcased their incredible musical talents.
The Concert Band took the stage first, beginning with two movements from “Court Festival,” a piece by William P. Latham. This piece helped to start the concert on an exciting note, as the lively tempo kept the audience engaged and interested, even at slow moments. The band also shined in their slower piece, “On A Hymnsong of Philip Bliss” by David R. Holsinger. The slow, comforting tone showed off the band’s strong wind section, with senior clarinetists Morgan McCallum and Jose Ortega leading the way. A beautiful French Horn solo by sophomore Audrey Day tied the piece together, leaving the audience breathless. The Concert Band finished their performance with an energetic march, “Bonds of Unity,” by Karl L. King (arranged by James Swearingen).This march, once performed by traveling circus bands, was an enjoyable end to the Concert Band’s performance, leaving the audience with the memory of a jaunty beat and exciting trumpet fanfare.
Orange High School’s esteemed Jazz Ensemble performed next, featuring jazz-style instrumentation and an exciting, contemporary sound. The band began their performance with “Stro’s Place” by Carl Strommen, easily capturing their audience’s attention with a fast, engaging beat. The band then slowed down a bit with “Just Before Sunset” by Paul Clark, a rich, beautiful, jazz piece with an outstanding solo performance by junior trumpetist Ross Parham. The band finished off the night with “The Judge,” an engaging piece by Paul Cook that had the audience cheering, and “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag,” a challenging piece that allowed the band to show off all their hard work throughout the fall semester.
The fall band concert was another success for the always-excellent Orange High band. With engaging, beautiful music and a fun, lively atmosphere, the concert foreshadowed only good things to come from this year’s crop of musicians. With even more performances to come in December, from the Hillsborough Holiday Parade on December 6 to a school-wide presentation with the choral department on December 17, Orange High’s band program is off to a great start to their busiest performance season yet.
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