Review: Saucedo Guides Band Towards Musical Perfection

By Matt Brooks
The Aycock Auditorium at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro lit up
when the best middle school and high school musicians in the state came together for a
performance. The concert started at 1:00 in the afternoon on May 3rd, with the Middle
School Program first, then High School, and finally, Senior High.
The High School Program was conducted by composer Richard Saucedo. The band
came off extremely strong with the horns making a confident statement in the beginning
of one of Saucedos own works, Fanfare and Call to the Post. From the beginning, the
band demonstrated exceptional balance between their voices, and enjoyed showing off
their skills in an exciting first piece. From the beginning to the end, the first impression
was very impressive.
Next was Contre Qui, Rose, written by Morten Lauridsen and transcribed by H.
Robert Reynolds. The bands good tuning skills helped to make the chords in this slower
piece enjoyable, as well as the expressiveness in their dynamics. Their tuning helped
especially with the more dissonant chords that appear periodically during the piece,
making what could sound just playing irritating instead sound very musical. As the band
faded out on the last chord of the piece, they pulled off a nearly perfect transition from a
soft piano to absolute nothingness.
Continuing the generally soft mood was another one of Saucedos pieces, Walking
Into History. Rather than an awkward transition between them, the transition between
the percussion solo in the beginning to the winds was seamless, giving a very nice
ensemble-like sound overall. A great deal of trading off between the voices (including

percussion) helped to showcase a variety of members in the band at some point during the
piece. The mallet percussionists demonstrated an especially strong ability to lock in with
the rest of the band, and also with the conductor in exposed parts. The players in general
really seemed to be listening to each other throughout the whole piece, allowing for every
voice to be heard as they took turns in the spotlight. After some slower playing, an
exciting end to the piece brought some energy back to the program.
Next, to spice things up a bit (a lot) was Mambo from West Side Story, originally
written by Leonard Bernstein. The percussion gave the audience a groove to dance to
from the first measure, and the tasty spices from the woodwinds and brass helped to make
a recipe that no other song in the program could equal. Despite the fast tempo, the band
played through the quick rhythms like they were nothing. The entire piece was played so
tastefully and lightly, you had to fight the urge to get up and dance.
Finally played was His Honor March by Henry Fillmore, arranged by Fennell. It
had a strong start by the whole band. The pieces sudden changes in dynamics were
handled surprisingly well, and even to the point where they could catch the audience off
guard. No matter what dynamic, one could feel the light and playful touch throughout the
whole piece by the players. The march had so much going on, it was hard to pick up on
how many good things were being done; expressiveness was being heard in everything
from the main melody to the fast woodwind runs. As Saucedo sped up, the rest of the
band did a great job at following him, even when the tempo started to get crazy fast. A
strong end was given to this piece, and the audience gave their appreciation with a
standing ovation.
The High School Program gave an extremely impressive performance. The band

consistently exhibited their abilities to listen to each other and play the music the best that
they could. Through Saucedos leadership, they achieved a lot in the small amount of
time they were given, and to some, may have been the best ensemble of the day.