The orchestral sound bloomed into a beautiful crescendo as the bassoons surged alive along the yellow-green background, the lights perfectly timed to the movement of music drawing eyes to the vibrant performance on stage.
Greene Middle School’s 8th Grade Symphonic Band, the Freshman Concert Band, and the Palo Alto Symphonic Band performed on Nov. 21 in the Palo Alto High Schools Performing Arts Center.
Annually, the Paly-Greene Exchange Concert allows middle school band students to see the high school band and inspires them to join the band.
The concert started with “La Madre de Los Gatos,” composed by Brian Beck, performed by the Freshman Concert Band, a dynamic piece which set the tone for the night.
According to Jeffrey Willner, one of the directors of the concert, Paly has been doing this concert for over 20 years to encourage middles schoolers to join the Paly band.
“[We are] going to the people that are being brought up and learning how to play and telling them ‘Hey you can play in high school you know.’ And we’d like to see you continue and keep doing that,” Willner said. “It’s also information for the families because the parents in the audience can see and have a little comfort they [their kids] can do it in high school.”
Next, the Greene Symphonic Band played “Sunchaser” by Carol Britten, an uplifting piece with beautiful lighting, and “The Cave You Fear” by Michael Markowski, a spooky piece with teeth rattling sound effects.
Junior Max Soparkar said he remembers this concert from when he was in 8th grade.
“I did [play in this concert] when I was in eighth grade, and since then, I would say that my skills definitely improved,” Soparkar said. “This concert is definitely like a blast from the past, and it’s nice to feel like I’m part of a cycle.”
During the performance, the bands played the songs: “Alligator Alley” by Michael Daugherty and “Illumination” by David Maslanka, which both highlighted the technical harmonious skill of the Paly band.
Willner said the concert was successful because of how good the concert felt this year.
“The mood was very upbeat and relaxed because we put them together for the first time at 5 o’clock, and everyone felt they knew what they were doing,” Willner said. “Sometimes you’re kind of nervous but, I was very comfortable. And part of it is because the students are so well prepared, and there’s no reason for being nervous. So it felt great up on stage.”
“Tripwire” by JaRod Hall was the final song of the day and it brought all three bands to the stage where they performed a dramatic conclusion. This was followed by the encore where they played Green and White Forever on of Paly’s football cheer to end the night on a triumphant note.
According to Connor Bond, an 8th grader at Greene, he always enjoys being on stage with older kids.
“I find it’s nice to have someone wiser to bounce off of,” Bond said. “My favorite thing about playing today is just getting to feel the vibrations of music flowing through. It’s pretty cool.”