Honor bands showcase promising future musical talents

Heads up UNC music department. The 2010 Northern League Honor Bands performed for a packed house in the Union Colony Civic Center’s Monfort Concert Hall. The Northern League was comprised of students from the area’s middle and high schools along with regional schools reaching as far as Longmont and Sterling.

“It was stressful but also amazingly exhilarating to be part of this level of performance,” said Lyndie Haddock, a clarinet player from Longs Peak Middle School.

The middle school band ignited the crowd with a set of four classical arrangements led by different conductors from participating schools. During their closing selection, titled “Shackelford Banks,” the 99 middle school students alternated standing and playing with their respective sections while the others clapped to the rhythm of the song.

After a set change, the high school band had a quick mood-setting tuning session before Chris Thomas introduced guest conductor Dan Farris.

“We put the students through some pretty demanding music today,” said Thomas, the Frederick High School band director and coordinator of this year’s Northern League Honor Band.

The 79-member high school band opened with a set of epic-toned classical pieces. Next, the six percussion students pooled together at the front of the stage with wooden blocks for an extensive arrangement aptly titled “Pieces of Wood.”

“I’ve gotten the chance to do this across the country with different groups,” said Farris, the director of Athletic Bands at Northwestern University in Chicago. “It’s kind of like Forrest Gump — you never know what you’re gonna get. But it’s always a lot of fun.”

Farris has directed bands for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Dublin, Ireland St. Patrick’s Day Parade and The Alamo Bowl football game, and has worked as director of the Walt Disney World Collegiate All-Star Band in Orlando.

The evening was concluded with the high school honor band performing the patriotic “Chimes of Liberty” that was reminiscent of a revolutionary period battle march. The triumphant finish warranted a colossal standing ovation from the crowd.