Region Band offers emotional works

Selections performed at the Pennsylvania Music Educator’s Association 2017 Region IV Band Festival painted vivid musical and emotional landscapes for the audience in their offerings, from the dark isolation of space, to conflict, and even a nostalgic look at small town life.
The ensemble featured high school musicians from 56 schools counties in a concert held Saturday, March 25, at Central Columbia High School in Bloomsburg.
Top performers from PMEA District 8 and District 9 reached the regional band after auditions held earlier in February at district festivals.
At the start of the three-day Region festival, instrumentalists competed for chair placement on their parts, as well as a chance to move on to the All-State Band Festival which will be held in Erie in April.
The Region IV Band was under the direction of Dr. Timothy Paul, Director of Bands at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
The concert offered a distinctly different program for the elite high school performers.
“Mother Earth,” a dark fanfare by David Maslanka, was the opening selection; followed by Roger Zare’s “Mare Tranquillitatis,” which means Sea of Tranquility, named for the site of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The lyrical piece featured several soloists.
The ensemble also played opera overture, “La Forza del Destino,” by Giuseppi Verdi, arranged by Lake-Kent.
The nostalgic “Home Again” by David R. Gillingham, a piece written for Gillingham’s hometown, reflected nostalgia, love of place and change in its melodies.
Mark Camphouse’s “A Movement for Rosa” was written to honor Civil Rights leader Rose Parks. The work contains three sections beginning with Parks’ early life in Alabama, then the years of racial strife; and final quiet section with dissonant measures that mark lingering racial tension in America.
Students from Wyoming and Susquehanna counties performing in the PMEA Region IV Band included the following from Lackawanna Trail (LT), Montrose Area (MA), Tunkhannock Area (TA), Blue Ridge (BR), and Forest City (FC);
Flute: Cassandra Brown (LT); Grace Wood (MA);
Bassoon: Lizzie Bennici (MA);
Clarinet: Danielle Dubofsky (MA); Megan McVaugh (MA); Alyssa Nichols (TA); Laura Sachaczenski (TA); Genna Smith (MA);
Bass Clarinet: Alaina Jones (LT);
Alto Sax: Jake Decker (BR);
Trumpet: Don Nguyen (FC);
French Horn: Isabella Race (TA); Kyra Ricci (MA), Skylar Secord (BR); Georgia Smith (MA);
Trombone: Caleb Reyes (MA).