By Taylor St. Germain
Staff Writer
Starting in the 2013-14 school year, Mira Costa’s wind ensemble will become an honors course instead of an introductory class.
The new honors class will go into further depth with the music, and students will have a more complete understanding of the background of the pieces. The students will take an independent approach at finding the meaning of their music selections and apply it to their performances.
“Taking a deeper look into our music will not only help the performance sound better to the audience but also help our skill level grow for future performances,” freshman Kate Robak said. “I am really excited to have the opportunity to improve my ability with this honors class.”
Honors wind ensemble will be offered to all students who have the ability to play collegiate or professional level pieces. Students who play woodwinds, brass or percussion instruments will be eligible to participate in honors wind ensemble.
“The course is offered through our placement assessment where we try to group the students by ability level,” Costa band director Joel Carlson said. “The students who are making it into wind ensemble will be playing some of the tougher audition selections we provide or music that is appropriate for an all-state musician.”
Students will be required to perform in two recitals throughout the year, showcasing their individual pieces as well as giving a short explanation about the history, background and meaning of their songs. The goal of this performance is to further the student’s understanding of orchestral and performance music. These performances will be apart of the class’ semester finals.
“I haven’t done much solo playing in recitals,” junior Brian Sydow said. “They might be a challenge, but I’m sure I’ll do well, improve, and hopefully get a good grade if I practice hard. I’m sure that the recitals will make me a better player and improve the band as a whole.”
After reading through the University of California’s class website and course descriptions, Carlson discovered that the ensemble could be converted into an honors course which would allow students to receive advanced credit on their GPA.
“It was only through reading through the specifics of all of the UC website’s documentation that we found the actual information on how to do it,” Carlson said. “It’s all a little bit hidden within the website.”
Manhattan Beach Unified School District approved Carlson’s new idea for the honors class. The course was then switched in the UC system to give advanced credit. After the switch, the students will not only receive the one point boost on their GPA, but also the ability to put the honors class on their college applications.
“The new honors credit for wind ensemble will definitely benefit and attract incoming sophomores and juniors,” junior Kaitlyn McQuown said. “Mostly in terms of GPA and college applications, but the increased attention to music theory that comes with the course will benefit everyone and will be a great class.”
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