On Monday March 26, the Pleasant Valley concert bands put on a concert showcasing the pieces they’ve been working on for the past month in their annual Senior Band Concert. Something different about this concert compared to others is that all the pieces were chosen by the seniors. The three 10-12th grade bands played pieces that seniors enjoyed playing in concert band within the last three years.
In addition to the student selected repertoire, the Wind Symphony featured three of their best musicians in their portion of the concert, the first being Claire Thomsen, winner of the 2017 Quad City Youth Symphony Concerto Competition. “She is a three year All-Stater and one of the best musicians in the state,” Director Drew Anderson said. For the senior concert, Thomsen chose Fantaisie Pastorale Hongroise by Albert Franz Doppler, a flute solo she had performed a few years ago to perform with the Wind Symphony band. “It needed some brushing up so I slowly practiced some of the harder measures of the solo with a metronome and gradually began to speed up the tempo,” Thomsen said. With her diligent work, Thomsen performed the solo effortlessly and the band complemented her talent well.
For those unfamiliar with music, the preparation for performing as a band and performing as a soloist are vastly different. As a soloist, you have to project out to the audience to carry your sound all the way to the back of the auditorium. “There is also a little more flexibility with how you want to interpret your piece by stretching measures, speeding up measures, or putting emphasis in specific parts,” Thomsen stated.
After Thomsen’s solo with the band, seniors Keshav Wagle and Ethan Good also had the opportunity to be featured in the Wind Symphony concert. Both Good and Wagle auditioned for the 2018 Quad City Youth Symphony Concerto Competition this year and took 1st and 2nd place. With this accomplishment, Wagle performed a solo on Oboe with the Quad City Youth Symphony Orchestra at their concert in February, and Good will perform with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. To celebrate their accomplishment, Good and Wagle performed a duet accompanied by the Wind Symphony band in the Senior Band Concert. The audience and fellow musicians were able to experience their hard work as the two performed and shared a special moment in the fun and playful piece.
These performances proved the three musician’s talent will continue to grow as they all plan to further their musicianship after graduation. In addition to the soloists, all of the concert bands featured senior musicians as a last farewell to captivate their fond memories throughout their PV Band experience. The Band Department wishes its graduating seniors the best in their future endeavors and hopes that music will leave a lasting impression on them.
