Members of the Westwood Band participated in the Region 26 band concert on Jan. 30. After having an audition in December, 25 students placed high enough to become members of the region band. The students learned their difficult literature with just a few hours of rehearsal, and performed an outstanding concert for a cheering audience.

On the day before the concert, students met at Leander High School to begin their rehearsal, and met again in the morning on the day of the concert. In just eight hours, the bands learned their four pieces of music. The first band to perform was the 6A Concert Band, starting the concert with Nitro, by Frank Ticheli. They followed it with Serenity, a slow piece by Ola Gjeilo, and Second Suite in F, a four movement piece by Gustav Holst. The band ended their concert with Folk Dances, a fast and technical piece by Dimitri Shostakovich.

“The band played extremely well,” Mr. Jack Green said. “To put together this high level of literature in just a few short hours is amazing.”

The 6A Symphonic Band played afterwards, starting by playing Ecstatic Fanfare, a light and fast piece by Steven Bryant. They followed with Children’s March: “Over the Hills and Far Away,” a smooth piece that even included vocals, composed by Percy Grainger, and Pale Blue on Deep, a slow and emotional piece by Aaron Perrine. Their last piece was quick and hectic, entitled March from “Symphonic Metamorphosis” and composed by Paul Hindemith.

“The concert was fantastic,” Mr. Green said. “Especially as a band director, it was really inspiring to hear what the students put out there in their performance.”

The students had a great concert, and played both beautiful and challenging pieces. Of the 25 students that made a region band, four will head to San Antonio for the All State Clinic and Convention on Feb. 13. All of these students have worked hard, for both the audition and their performance.