By Cate Schiff
Staff Writer
Mira Costa Band and Orchestra received multiple awards at the Southern California School of Band and Orchestra Association festival on March 12 at Santa Monica High School and Long Beach Polytechnic High School, respectively.
Symphony Orchestra received “Superior,” the highest ranking award, and the Philharmonic Orchestra received “Excellent,” the second highest ranking.
“There were two parts in the music festival,” orchestra teacher Peter Park said. “Each music group performed for three highly-ranked adjudicators. After, students sight-read a piece of music they had not learned yet.”
All three Costa bands received “Superior” rankings at the SCSBOA festival.
“Each band spent countless hours perfecting our technique, so I was happy the adjudicators recognized our efforts,” band member senior Abha Nath said.
Orchestra member sophomore Danica Chong believes that the choice of music, “Capriccio Espagnol,” helped Orchestra impress the judges.
“Our piece was fun to play and sounded nice with the band,” Chong said. “Going to competitions is an opportunity to get to know other orchestra members and play great music.”
According to Park, around 25 other schools from Southern California attended the festival.
“With every song, we want to push our students to their potentials,” Park said.
The orchestra’s performances were also meant to prepare the group for its next concert on June 9 at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Band members hope to use their festival experience to perform well at the Manhattan Village on April 13.
“This experience helped prepare us for the future,” band member sophomore Jon Sullivan said. “Our ups and downs in the festival will help us improve our skill for upcoming performances.”
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