Symphony for Band- IV. Vivace by Vincent Persichetti performed by Eastman Wind Ensemble
Below is a picture of a program from my final band concert in high school.
Regular readers of this blog may know the story of why me and a handful of other high school seniors had to conduct the Symphonic Band band portion of this concert when our band director was terminated from his job just weeks before the event. A part from the scandal surrounding his firing, our band director was a brilliant musician who exposed us to all kinds of great wind ensemble, marching band and jazz band music.
I have a very distinct memory of how betrayed many us felt when we got the news. As seniors, we were very close to our director and were looking forward to this concert before our graduation. At some point, we decided to approach the administration and ask them if we could still perform the concert. And with only weeks away, we were willing to conduct some of the songs we had worked so hard on. This song was the one I conducted. It wasn’t until many years later when I was in music school, did I realize what an achievement it was for a high school band to be able to play such an advanced piece of music.
Song a Day 2020 