Westerville South music department’ band concert on Nov. 19 was captivating with three separate concert bands and the jazz band performing.

The energy was electric in the auditorium as the audience found their seats and quieted for the first performance. Immediately it was clear that tonight would be something special. With almost two hours of outstanding performances from four different bands, it was the largest band concert at South in recent memory. 

The concert bands played three different songs, and the jazz band ended off the night with five.

 Jacob Austrino, the band director, said, “This is the first year in school history as far as I understand that we have ever had three separate concert bands. This has been a very positive change due to the increase in the number of students enrolled in a band class. It has allowed each student to have a more personalized experience in band.” 

Each band has its own specialty that allows them to shine as a group when performing. The Jazz Ensemble plays jazz, funk, pop, rock, and blues music, while the concert bands all “play a genre of music that I would call ‘symphonic’,” Austrino said.

“It combines elements of classical, romantic era, and contemporary music into a format that fits our instrumentation. These three bands play the same style of music at different difficulty levels,” he continued.

 Essentially, Austrino thinks the differing levels of difficulty between all the bands helps them to learn and improve as musicians as they continue on in the program.

Preparation for the concert also went smoothly, as Austrino said, “This was a relatively straight-forward concert to prepare for. They handled this challenge well, and it showed in their performance.”

Austrino emphasized “these concerts exist to help students grow and improve as a musician and as a member of a team.”  

One of the challenges for putting on a concert in the first place is picking adequate music for each band. Austrino commented on how he chooses music that he feels will be appropriate for each band so they will all feel equally challenged. He added, “I always say that music comes from the heart, and if students aren’t enjoying it, it’s not worth performing it.”

 Sophomore Christian Hoppe in the wind ensemble commented on how he enjoyed the show due to the necessity of working with his partners in the percussion section to keep the music together.  

Hoppe added that everyone felt like an important contributor to each song. “After the show, people went up to Mr. Austrino after the concert and told him about pieces that resonated with them,” he said. 

The pieces were all diverse and explored different areas of music. Jazz, pop rock, classical style music, the concert was a whirlwind of genres, especially thanks to the fact four bands were present. 

Hoppe said, “My favorite was Ignition because of the teamwork me and the other percussion students had.”

The concert was overall a success thanks to the clear effort of the musicians present and the work of the directors. Mistakes were not noticeable, and many audience members gave a standing ovation at the end of the performance.

The band is going to keep rehearsing and performing, Austrino  said, “Our next event is Solo and Ensemble where the students perform by themselves or in a small group for an adjudicator. This is on Jan 17. Our next concert is March 4.” 

 Although this concert is already past, the  musicians are already hard at work to strike a chord with the audience at their next show.