DECATUR — The night was filled with the sweet sounds of clarinets, trumpets and timpani on May 11 as three bands converged on Peterson Gym in Decatur for the 2021 Bulldog Band spring concert.
Maestro Jesse Owens directed the 14-piece beginning band which was made up of mostly first-year music students from the sixth grade. The young musicians performed seven simple pieces by such well-known composers as Dvorak, Grieg, Beethoven and Bach, and a classical favorite “Can-Can” from Jacques Offenbach.
The heart of the band consists of instruments from several sections of the musical ensemble which, in the Decatur bands, consist of the woodwind, brass and percussion sections. The woodwind section is made up of reed instruments such as the oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone, and one of the smallest of the band instruments, the flute (only the piccolo is smaller). Although the flute uses no reeds, it is still classified as a woodwind.
The brass section is made up of the trumpet, trombone, French horn, euphonium and tuba.
And last but not least is the percussion section. This part of the band is made up of a large variety of instruments, with the snare drum, bass drum, cymbals and timpani comprising the main rhythm driving instruments. Other percussion instruments used in the Bulldog Band Spring Concert included wind chimes, xylophone, drum trap set, wood blocks and triangle.
Each band was comprised of one or two musicians on each instrument.
Next up was the 16-member middle school band which is comprised of seventh- and eighth-grade music students. The middle school band performed three more difficult pieces, “Canticum” by James Curnow, “Blue” by Robert Smith, and the ever-popular John Phillip Sousa band number, “Washington Post March.”
The middle school performance was stellar in every way, but the best one was the Sousa march.
The 18-member high school band joined forces with the middle school to perform the John Wasson piece, “Firefly.” The Wasson band number was one that the middle school has worked on since November and, with the addition of the more experienced musicians, was in itself one of the most beautifully performed numbers for the combined bands.
And, finally, the high school band had its chance to shine with three beautiful masterpieces, including “Mountain of the Sun,” “An Echo of the Infinite,” “Argentum,” and a variation on the popular hymn, “Amazing Grace.”
Just before the final selection of the night, Owens introduced his senior members who played their final concert as high school students. For all, the road to music began when Owens first arrived in Decatur. All the senior members were seventh-graders when Owens took the high school music director’s position six years ago. They included Dora Hernandez-flute, Carlos Perez-saxophone, Emmanuel Thao-percussion, Victor Gonzalez-trumpet, and Damian Merworth-tuba.
Mike Eckels may be reached by email at meckels@nwadg.com .