This month on May 18th band students will have the chance to join the Sterling Municipal Band. This gives young players an opportunity to play with professionals and challenge themselves. The group performs in front of audiences bigger than a student’s average band concert.
Auditions can be intimidating but joining the band means gaining more experience as a player and performing for your community. Most notable for their Music Under The Stars shows during the summer, they also put on a winter and spring concert.
“My favorite show during the summer is the Independence Day celebration because I like seeing the turnout we have every year,” says senior Alejandra Calderon.
The celebration is a tradition for the band and features real cannon blasts that are incorporated into the music they play.
To prepare for auditions, students will need a piece of music that will show off their skills and a scale sheet. They will also be expected to sight-read a piece of music because the band is mainly a reading band. Participants have very few rehearsals per concert. For the summer shows, rehearsal will be on Tuesday nights and then the concert will be on Wednesday nights. The winter and spring concerts work differently by having weekly rehearsals leading up to one concert.
Being in the Municipal Band does require skill as members are expected to play a lot of music in a short amount of rehearsal time. The pieces are usually above a high school level. But this has helped many young players develop their playing abilities.
“It encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone and play pieces that I wouldn’t play in band,” says senior Ava Cassens. A plus to being a Municipal Band member is being paid $18 per rehearsal and concert.
If you want to see what the Municipal Band is about, they will be performing their Spring Concert at Centennial Auditorium on May 1st starting at 7 p.m., admission is free.
