On Tuesday March 26th the Concert Ensembles of the Mira Costa Bands traveled to perform in the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association Festival at El Dorado High School. Each ensemble performed the most challenging literature they have performed at festival in the past 5 years and each received the highest marks that they have received playing that difficult level of literature in over a decade!
While playing one of the hardest pieces of music the Mira Costa Symphonic Band has ever played, David Holsinger’s At the Strongholds of En Gedi (a piece performed and recorded by college ensembles), our Symphonic Band was recognized by two of the judges in the concert hall as playing at a Superior level! Immediately after performing on stage, the students traveled to the sight reading room and, for those that have never witnessed the festival sight reading experience, the adjudicator passes out a piece of music the students have never seen before and, after studying it for 4 minutes without playing it, they have the opportunity to play it for a rating and feedback. The Symphonic Band performed fantastically and our adjudicator gave them the highest rating possible, Superior; she was stunned that there were still two more groups to come that would be playing even more challenging literature!
When the Wind Ensemble stepped up to the plate playing Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to “Candide” as well as Clifton William’s Symphonic Dance No. 3 ‘Fiesta’, the judges responded with an overall Superior rating and they also received a Superior rating in the sight reading room! Overture to Candide is a professional level piece, last performed by the Mira Costa Bands in Carnegie Hall! The Wind Ensemble is truly to be commended for their diligent preparations and fantastic performing!
Finally, the Wind Symphony brought the house down with Dimitri Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, one of the most blisteringly fast pieces in the repertoire! The head judge offered the ensemble an A Triple-Plus for their technical facility, flexibility and dexterity on this professional level piece and the Wind Symphony earned a Superior rating from each of the adjudicators on stage as well as in the sight reading room!
It was truly a fantastic day and all of our students are to be commended on their excellent preparations and performance achievements! Onward and upward!!