DECATUR — For seniors Ryan Shaffer, Dylan Frydrychowski, Shaney Lee, Jafett Puga and Isabel Rodriguez, the spring band concert marked the end of a long musical journey that began in elementary school more than six years ago.
Family, friends and music enthusiasts gathered in the cafeteria at Decatur Northside Elementary to hear the Decatur music department's 2017 Spring Concert May 3. Under the direction of Jesse Owens, music director, the high school band and choir, middle school band and the beginning band presented a series of classical, modern and old fashion folk music and songs from several periods in music history.
Up first was the 21-member girls' choir, singing three songs, which included the modern love ballad, "Can't Help Falling In Love With You," by Hugo Peretti.
The beginning band played a series of American folk songs, including simple renditions of "Yankee Doodle" and "On Top of Old Smokey." Included in the band's repertoire were two musical icons from the classical period in music, Ludwig van Beethoven and Jacques Offenbach.
The middle school band wowed the crowd with its rendition of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Ed Huckeby's "Acclamations."
The concert concluded with the high school band performance of three pieces that showcased some of the many musical talents of each member. The percussion section of the band was highlighted in two of the pieces, with some of the band members putting down their normal instruments in favor of mallets and drum sticks, conga and bongo drums and cymbals.
Lee set down her flute and picked up a set of mallets to play the xylophones, while Shaffer put up his saxophone and did a nice assemblage on the conga drums.
The performance by all three bands and the choir gave just a little taste of musical culture to the Decatur community.
The Decatur music program continues to grow as younger students from Northside Elementary become interested in playing an instrument in a band. For more information on the Decatur school music programs, contact Jesse Owens, 479-752-3983.
General News on 05/10/2017