Honor musicians meet for concert
The trumpet section of the high school Honor Festival band rehearses prior to Tuesday's concert. The biannual concert was held in Moses Lake for the first time since 2006.
The string and brass section of the middle school Honor Festival band rehearses prior to Tuesday's concert. The biannual concert was held in Moses Lake for the first time since 2006.
MOSES LAKE - Band and choir participants from 30 north central Washington schools filled the Moses Lake High School gym with music Tuesday night, as the high school hosted the biannual NCWMEA Honor Festival. The daylong workshops and evening concert were sponsored by the NCW Music Educators Association.
Musicians came from small schools (Pateros and Royal City) and big schools (Wenatchee and Eastmont) as far away as Omak, said MLHS music director Mike Divelbiss. It was the first time Moses Lake hosted the concert since 2006, Divelbiss said.
The concert featured elementary school choirs and middle and high school bands and choirs. Performers were the top 10 percent of their music classes, as chosen by their teachers, Divelbiss said. "We're the best in our bands," said Cole Godfrey, Wenatchee High School. About 390 high school and middle school students participated, Divelbiss said.
For kids from small schools, the big band was something new. "I'm not used to having four other snare (drum) players," said Anthony Hebdon, Royal High School. "You put it all together and it really sounds amazing," said Lorie LeDoux, Pateros High School. Manual Sanchez, Manson High School, said the music would have been out of reach of the relatively small Manson band. "They could not play this," he said.
Edwin Encisco, Cashmere High School, said he benefited from the instruction. "Definitely. I learned a lot today," he said. He learned more about the fundamentals of playing music, he said, "the stuff that you do that isn't written in the music, but you should do."
Godfrey said he plays with a bigger band in Wenatchee and the festival music was easy. But other musicians from big schools found plenty to challenge them. Sabrina Windsor, Eastmont High School, is an alto in the choir and has had trouble with the upper range. "Today I've actually figured out how to hit the high notes," she said.
The choir participants learned about pronunciation and the dynamics of vocal performance. And the music had its challenges. "It's not necessarily hard, but it's not easy," said Adrian Marquis, Eastmont. The difficulty was learning an entire program in about eight hours, she said.
"There are no weak players in these bands," said Kent Chalmers, band director at Cashmere. Pateros band director Jonathan McBride said the concert brings together kids with the same level of musical skill and interest. "We're all on the same page," said Nelson Ramirez, Royal High School.