Festival features four bands, two concerts
<p><strong>From left</strong>, Chandler Middlemas of the Flathead High School Symphonic Band and Steeton Wilsonoff and Rachel Schubert of the Hellgate High School Wind Ensemble practice under the direction of Nathan Stark of Montana State University on Monday at Flathead High School. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
High school bands from four schools are participating in the AA Band Festival Monday and Tuesday at Flathead High School.
Two days of rehearsals will be capped by concerts Monday and Tuesday nights.
The Monday night concert is at 7 p.m. in the Flathead High School auditorium.
It will feature individual performances by bands from Helena Capitol, Missoula Hellgate, Glacier and Flathead high schools.
The Helena Capitol School band, under the direction of Duane Zehr, will perform “Tocatta for Band” by Erickson and “Forget me Not” by J. S. Bach.
The Glacier High School band under the direction of David Barr will perform “A Zillion Nickles” by Samuel Hazo and Brian Balmages’s “Joy of Life.” Hellgate High School, under the direction of Leon Slater, is performing “Mother Earth” by David Maslanka and “Xerxes” by Mackey.
Closing out Monday night’s individual band concert will be the Flathead High School band directed by Allen Slater playing “Cry of the Last Unicorn” by Galante and “Roller Coaster.”
Tuesday’s gala concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Flathead auditorium following the Flathead-Glacier boys basketball playoff game.
Helena Capitol will combine with Glacier under the direction of guest clinician Arnold Garza, the director of bands at Alice High School in Texas. Pieces they are performing include “Wild Nights” by Ticheli, “Slavic Farewell” by Agapkin and “Arabian Nights” by Ronald Barrett.
Nathan Stark, director of bands at Montana State University, will lead the combined Hellgate and Flathead bands. They will perform “4 Dances from West Side Story” by Bernstein, “Letter from Sado” by Jodi Blackshaw and “Dum Spiro Spero” by Chris Pilsner.
In addition to the combined bands there will be a percussion ensemble led by Stephen Versaevel, the percussion director from Montana State University.
Both concerts are free.
The festival is an opportunity for students to learn and share with peers from other areas while also working with guest clinicians.