by Aozora Ito, sports editor
On Feb. 9, the annual District Honor Band Concert was held in the historic Huntington Beach High School (HBHS) Auditorium. This concert showcased 87 selected students from six schools within the Huntington Beach Unified High School District (HBUHSD), who all underwent a one month audition and rehearsal process. There were 16 musicians from Fountain Valley chosen to be in honor band.
The night started with a refreshing opening speech from Mark Irons, the band director at Fountain Valley High School (FVHS).
“Six different schools, tonight, they make one band and one sound,” said Irons. He also stated that there were “many smiles and many musical breakthroughs” throughout the rehearsals.
Right after his opening speech, the show began. The guest conductor of this year was Leo Sakamoto, a Director of Instrumental Studies at California State University, Bakersfield. Five pieces were played that night: “Olympiada” by Samuel R. Hazo, “Courtly Airs and Dances” by Ron Nelson, “Dusk” by Steve Bryant, “Vesuvius” by Frank Ticheli and lastly the “National Emblem” written by E. E. Bagley.
After 40 minutes of live, heart-filling music, Irons recognized the band directors from six high schools:
- Arwen Hernandez (Edison)
- Matt Matthews (Fountain Valley)
- Gregg Gilboe (Huntington Beach)
- John McGilligan (Marina)
- J.P. Combs (Ocean View)
- John Whatley & Kim Long Vo (Westminster)
Following the introduction of the band directors, nine musicians were recognized for being in the district honor band program for four consecutive years. From FVHS, Hannah Galvez-Arango (’17), a flute and piccolo player, was awarded. She explained the massive gains from being on honor band.
“When I was a freshman, I felt very lost during the first rehearsal, and I encountered time signatures and musical notations I couldn’t even identify,” she said. “Now, after four years of honor band, I look forward to reading through new music and exploring different styles of band literature.”
Galvez-Arango loves the opportunity to work with a fuller instrumentation that give a more “vibrant and mature sound” through honor band, including harps, flugelhorns and bird calls.
Dr. Sakamoto was then welcomed back on stage for a speech. While acknowledging the cliche that conductors give every year of their group being the “best,” Sakamoto nonetheless said, “This is the best honor band I’ve ever done. Now, I’ve only done like three,” bringing laughter from the crowd.
Sakamoto closed the concert with an appropriate national anthem march, and the concert ended in a powerful round of applause from the audience.
