Ann Arbor High School Bands Showcase in Review
Ann Arbor Public Schools, Ann Arbor Band Associations
in association with Bob Rogers Travel presents Ann Arbor High School Bands Showcase
The Ann Arbor Community High School Jazz Bands; Jack Wagner, conductor
The Ann Arbor Skyline High School Bands; Jason Smith, conductor; Ty Santos, Associate Director of Bands
The Ann Arbor Huron High School Bands; Robert Ash, conductor; Evaristo Rodriguez, Associate Director of Bands
The Ann Arbor Pioneer High School Bands; David A. Leach, conductor; Erin Lilliefors, Associate Director of Bands
Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium, New York, NY
March 30, 2022
At first glance around the vast main auditorium of Carnegie Hall, I thought at least half of Ann Arbor had turned out to cheer on their intrepid students. The real figure was more like one percent, nevertheless… Ann Arbor, Michigan is lucky on many levels: they have a branch of the University of Michigan with its renowned music department; but more important: they have a community that actually funds, nourishes, and supports its public school arts programs.
I am happiest to report, from among a perhaps over-long program, that the jazz students, and those in symphonic bands who play jazz-inflected material, are super talented. After all, New York’s Juilliard School has had a jazz major for some time now, helmed by the legendary Wynton Marsalis.
The program began with one of these ensembles, the cleverly named Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse (plus 1), from Community High. Now normally, I would run screaming for the exit if the real “four horsemen” were to announce their arrival, and for the past two years everything has felt somewhat apocalyptic. There was no cause for alarm here- only joy, energy, and pleasure. Their playing, in music by Fisher, Ellington, and Hargrove, had that indefinable element of combined training and spontaneity.
The concert/symphonic bands had more mixed results. Naturally these groups are larger, with players from many more varied skill sets, and they are, of course, not professional musicians. However, I have a duty to report on what I heard and perceived. From the several tunings the bands made prior to playing, I could tell that, in fact, they weren’t in tune, and that led me to speculate about how finely their ears are being trained, as to pitch. I am happy to report, however, that every group had an acute ability to render the most complicated rhythmic materials, handing off detailed passages from one group of instruments to another, having no trouble at all with irregular meters or syncopation.
The Huron Concert Green band played the Chaconne from Gustav Holst’s First Suite and a transcribed movement from Erika Svanoe’s Steampunk Suite. They were convincing in the depiction of crazed energy that was feared as technology began its relentless march in the nineteenth century: Barnum and Tesla’s Tandem Bicycle.
The Pioneer Concert Purple band then played Samuel Hazo’s Arabesque, which began with an amazing flute solo that was gorgeously played. The composition, I suppose, could be labeled as politically incorrect these days, with its cliché depictions of “exoticism- perhaps it’s a guilty pleasure. They followed with Robert Sheldon’s Metroplex: Three Postcards from Manhattan, another cliché, and I hope they now know, after visiting, how much more intricate Manhattan is than this music.
Another Community High jazz group, the Ballistic Whistle (great name!) shined, especially in Coltrane’s Impressions and Herbie Hancock’s Swamp Rat. Kevin Payne on piano really anchored the group (he would later serve as drummer and vibraphone- what a talent!). The spirit of Coltrane really hovered over their performance, and I wish for these young players that their lives will be longer than his short one, and filled with the same sense of exploration and innovation.
The Skyline Symphony/Concert bands best moment was their performance of Percy Grainger’s Children’s March, an elaborate treatment of some fragments of nursery tunes, the most prominent of which we would recognize as “I’m a little teapot.”
After intermission, the third Community High jazz group, Fantasy in 3, dazzled in Poinciana by Nat Simon and Buddy Bernier, and Cedar Walton’s Ugetsu. Kevin Payne again displayed fearless virtuoso control of the vibraphone.
The Huron Symphony band played a (way too) long Symphony No. 4 by David Maslanka, for this listener it was far from the pretentious “speak to the fundamental human issues of transformation and re-birth in this chaotic time,” though the performance did seem a bit chaotic. Perhaps better repertoire choice would show off this dedicated band, which gave it their all.
Concluding, maestro David A. Leach, who has devoted a lifetime to band conducting, almost apologized for the length of the evening, before launching into Michael Daugherty’s Niagara Falls (no Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotton), and Omar Thomas’ Come Sunday, a new work replete with gospel inflection. Mr. Leach’s joy and freedom on the podium must be so inspiring for his students.
At every point in this long evening, one thing was clear, the enthusiasm of the parents and friends who made the journey from “A-squared” to support their own, and that’s the way it should be. Despite my critical remarks above, one must count this as a success on so many other levels, the most critical being the involvement of young people in the arts. Way to go, “Treetown.”
