Band students from all over the region travelled to Pflugerville High School to perform in the All Region concert on Friday, Jan. 26 and Saturday, Jan. 27. They worked with different music professors depending on which band they placed in.

The students arrived at Pflugerville High School at 6 p.m. on Friday. The 6A Symphonic Band, which was the top band, was taught by Dr. David Clemmer. The 6A Concert Band, the second band, was directed by Dr. Matthew Arau, and the 5A Symphonic Band taught by Mr. Fred Vollmar.

“I actually didn’t make it into a band in the auditions in December,” Ani Sreeram ‘19 said. “But then I got a call from one of my directors saying that a tenor [saxophone] spot opened up and it was mine if I wanted it. I obviously said yes. I was so excited to be able to get this opportunity.”

The students rehearsed until 9 p.m. and returned to Pflugerville the next morning at 8:30 a.m. They continued to play and improve their pieces until 3 p.m., only breaking for a 90-minute lunch.

“Playing for five hours [on Saturday] was really difficult,” Vivian Tran ‘19 said. “It was hard to stay engaged in the rehearsals all the time, but Dr. Arau let us take quick stretch breaks and made the learning process really fun.”

The concert started with the 5A Symphonic Band at 5 p.m. Their first piece was Who’s Who in the Navy Blue, by John Philip Sousa, followed by Redemption, by Rossano Galante. Their next piece was Persian Dance #2, by Amir Molookpour, followed by Suite Provencale, by Jan Van der Roost. Their final piece was Festmusik der Stadt Wien, which is German for Festival Music of the City of Vienna, by Richard Strauss.

The night continued with the 6A Concert Band at 6 p.m. They started their performance with Florentiner March, by Julis Fucik, followed by City Trees, by Michael Markowski. Their next piece was the fourth movement of Puszta, by Jan Van der Roost, followed by Song for Lyndsay, by Andrew Boysen Jr. Their final piece was Khan, by Julie Giroux.

“My favorite piece was Khan mainly because of how cool and dramatic it sounded,” Shannon Lei ‘21 said. “The woodwinds would start off with a soft, sweet melody which represented a village, and then the brass and percussion came in with loud bangs which represented Genghis Khan and his army.”

Shortly after the Concert Band, the 6A Symphonic Band took the stage. Their first piece was Pegasus, by John Gibson. They continued with Give Us This Day, by David Maslanka, followed by Danzón No. 2, by Arturo Márquez. Their final piece of the night was This Cruel Moon, by John Mackey.

“This was a really amazing experience,” Andrew Stevens ‘20 said. “Working with all these professors on different music was a really cool thing, and I hope I can do it again next year.”