The Charleston High School Band is working hard preparing for the Midwest Clinic International Band, Orchestra, and Music Conference. The Midwest Clinic will take place December 18th through the 21st in Chicago, Illinois. More than 18,000 composers, musicians, educators, and students from all 50 states and more than 30 countries will be in attendance at the International Conference.
The Charleston Band was asked by Richard Crain, President of the Midwest Clinic Board of Directors, if they would like to participate in the Conference. They were asked to be apart of the Conference’s Small School Initiative. When asked how they were chosen, Director Jessica Holt stated, “I believe he heard part of our concert at the Arkansas All-State Music Conference in February.”
The Charleston Band will be participating in what is called a rehearsal lab. This is essentially an open rehearsal for the conference attendees. Composer Richard Saucedo will lead the rehearsal lab. during the lab, Suacedo will demonstrate techniques for making a small band sound good, including cultivating good tone quality, tuning, balance, blend, articulation, and playing in time. He will also demonstrate ways to edit students’ parts for playability and how to isolate these skills when rehearsing musical literature.
At the end of the rehearsal lab, the Charleston Band will preform, “Awakening Hills”, which is one of Mr. Richard Saucedo’s pieces. The band recently previewed “Awakening Hills” at their annual Christmas Concert on December 8th. You can watch their preview performance on our YouTube page.
Jessica Holt ended our interview with this statement,
“At Charleston, we believe that small bands have the potential to sound every bit as good as large bands. The students, Mr. Uhrich, and I are excited and proud to be able to represent Arkansas and small bands everywhere at the Midwest Clinic!”
