My ultimate goal is to challenge my musicians enough to help them improve steadily each year.  No two students develop at the same pace, but all certainly wind up better and better with each subsequent year that they stick with the program. From my point of view the future is bright.”

Devon Wenndt, Band Director

Upcoming musical events include a choral performance on November 10th for the Veteran’s Day program and the Middle School and High School Christmas Concert on December 18th at 7:00 pm. The Elementary Christmas Concert will be held the following day on December 19th at 6:15 pm for kindergarten through second grade and 7:30 pm for third through fifth grade.

The Stanley-Boyd community was treated to a delightful evening of music on Monday evening. The October 30th Fall concert performed by the Stanley-Boyd High School Music Department was held in the high school gymnasium and included new sound blockers donated by Stanley-Boyd High School English teacher, Kayleigh Steinmetz’s father, Jeff Kluesner.

Devon Wenndt, Director of Bands, started off the evening with his talented group of thirty-two band students. Wenndt shared that he was excited for the fall concert as it’s typically more intimate with only the high school band and choir performing. He shared the process behind choosing the song selections for concert.

“Choosing repertoire is a little like choosing a spouse...things can go south in a hurry if you make a poor decision.  My most important consideration when choosing a concert lineup is how a certain piece fits the ensemble that I have at the time.  For example, the instrumentation needs to match the personnel that I have available to me.  My high school band is pretty light on saxophones at the moment, so I’m careful to avoid arrangements that rely heavily on multiple saxophone players,” he stated.  

Wenndt shared that it is a lengthy process to choose the songs and that compositions need to be challenging, yet attainable. They also need to be captivating for both performer and audience alike but contrasting in style, tempo, and key. The three pieces chosen were Selections from The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King by Howard Shore, arranged by Michael Story, ‘Summon the Heroes’ by John Williams, arranged by John Higgins, and ‘Sea Songs’ by Ralph Vaughan Williams, arranged by Robert Longfield. Wenndt explained that he chose the song, ‘Summon the Heroes’ because of its connection to Atlanta.

“John Williams composed this piece as the main theme for the 1996 Olympics, which were held in Atlanta.  I wanted to perform a piece with a connection to the city we will be traveling to in April,” he said referring to the music department’s class trip to Atlanta in April 2024. He shared his thoughts on his goal for the high school band for the current school year.

“My ultimate goal is to challenge my musicians enough to help them improve steadily each year.  No two students develop at the same pace, but all certainly wind up better and better with each subsequent year that they stick with the program.” He added, “From my point of view the future is bright.”

The second part of the evening included musical pieces from the Stanley-Boyd High School Concert Choir conducted by Louella Derrico, Director of Choirs, and accompanied by Linda Downey. The Choir consisting of sixty-two students performed four songs including, ‘Jubilance’ by Linda Spevacek, ‘Apple Tree’ by Aurora Aksnes, Odd Martin Skaalnes, and Magnus Skylstad and arranged by Katerina Gimon. Derrico explained that ‘Apple Tree’ challenged the vocalists vocally and stylistically. The song brought awareness to climate change while showing that all people have the power to change the world, do the right thing, and make a difference around them. The song selection also included ‘Songbird’ by Christine McVie, arranged by Paul Langford, and ‘Amavolovolo’, a traditional Zulu Dowry song arranged by Rudolf de Beer that featured high school band percussionists, Easton Holmes, Dylan Lewallen, and Koebin Wundrow. ‘Songbird’ is believed to be about the selflessness of love and Derrico remarked that many of the students had shared that they were singing ‘Songbird’ in honor of a family member or close friend.

Upcoming musical events include a choral performance on November 10th for the Veteran’s Day program and the Middle School and High School Christmas Concert on December 18th at 7:00 pm. The Elementary Christmas Concert will be held the following day on December 19th at 6:15 pm for kindergarten through second grade and 7:30 pm for third through fifth grade.