Last Thursday, the Henry J. Kaiser High School Band performed in the annual Parade of Bands’ Concert at President Theodore Roosevelt High School. The Band was co-conducted by the Kaiser Band and Orchestra Director, Michael Bataluna, and the new Student Teacher, Mr. Pinnell.
This musical night was put together and orchestrated by the O’ahu Band Directors Association.
The Roosevelt High School Concert Band and the Kaimuki High School Band preceded the Kaiser band. The Kalani High School Symphonic Wind Ensemble and the Roosevelt Symphonic Band also performed that night.
The Kaiser Band performed two pieces that night: “Sea Songs” by Ralph Vaughan Williams and “Festiva Jubiloso” by David Holsinger. “Sea Songs” is a medley of three famous British naval tunes, while Festiva is a much more aggressive and fast paced theme.
Koa Tigley, a Sophomore percussionist who played at the concert said that he preferred Festiva over Sea Songs.
“I like Festiva Jubiloso better because it is faster and more complicated to play, which makes it less boring and more interesting. I think Sea Songs is also fun as well, but Festiva Jubiloso is even more fun,” said Tigley.
Tigley isn’t alone in preferring Holsinger’s Festiva over Sea Songs. James Kunihiro, a freshman, said that Festiva is better than Sea Songs.
This seems to be a common consensus among the Kaiser High School Band. Timothy Hager, the Percussion section leader said, “My favorite song that we performed has to be Festiva because I like how the percussion was very dominant on the song and it’s importance in setting the tempo. And just the overall mood of the whole piece made for a very fun and exciting song to play.
The concert went smoother than most of the students anticipated. “I think we did surprisingly well,” said Tigley. “I think we played a lot better than we did in our rehearsal, which is a win from my perspective.”
Kunihiro also agreed with Tigley’s statement. “I think (especially for Festiva) it was a huge improvement from the last rehearsal.”
“I think everybody was hitting their ques and gave a 110% effort,” said Hager.
The Kaiser Band practiced for the Parade of Band’s Concert every Thursday from 2:15 to 3:45. The students practiced the pieces they performed, as well as several others which were omitted from the performance in order to keep it short and succinct.
The Kaiser Band members practiced songs such as Elegy of Abilioni by Shelley Hanson, The Little Mermaid Medley arranged by Tokashi Hoshide, and Jasper. The Kaiser Band will play these songs at the upcoming Spring Concert.
