Westlake students give families, friends a musical treat

Young people in the instrumental music program at Westlake High School gave an early and entertaining kickoff to the holiday weekend last Wednesday night with a delightful spring concert in the WHS Theater.

The program included performances by the school's symphonic band, wind symphony and wind ensemble. All three groups deserved and were rewarded with vigorous applause throughout the evening from an enthusiastic audience.

The instrumental music program at Westlake is in the capable hands of director Kyle Luck and assistant director Mike Gangemi. Both said they encourage students to play pieces that challenge their individual and collective abilities.

Young musicians will excel only if the bar is constantly raised, according to Luck and Gangemi.

While almost any student can learn to play a simple piece of music extremely well, the trick is to push the envelope and get the student to play a more difficult piece of music-and play it equally well. That's the philosophy Luck and Gangemi share.

Judging by last week's performance, they're getting the job done. They've thrown down the gauntlet and their students have accepted the challenge.

The real winner, however, was the audience.

More than one listener undoubtedly had mental images of 007 when the symphonic band treated the audience to the "James Bond Suite," which included the easily identified music of the "James Bond Theme," "Live and Let Die," "For Your Eyes Only" and "Goldfinger."

The wind symphony had to stand in response to boisterous applause that followed variations on "Scarborough Fair." Rondo, the third and final movement of "Incidental Suite" was a thoroughly enjoyable treat for the senses. Also performed by the wind symphony, it sounded like a musical interpretation of a thunderstorm. It included especially strong performances by percussion players, and listeners could almost feel stormy winds and downpours.

"Sinatra in Concert" was fun to hear and included "New York, New York," "It Was a Very Good Year," "The Lady is a Tramp" and "My Way."

Luck is especially proud of the school's wind ensemble, which won several prestigious awards this year. "They don't realize how good they really are," he said.

The wind ensemble opened with a rousing rendition of the overture from "Candide," which contrasted with the next piece, the smoothly flowing, soothing sound of "The Promise of Living."

Various band members took on the characters of songs in "The Eighties," which included melodies from "Let's Get Physical," "Billie Jean," "Don't Worry, Be Happy," "Chariots of Fire" and "We Are the World," among others.

The best came last and featured Bob Chen, a senior clarinet player who performed incredibly. During the jazzy "Blue Shades," Chen played a solo that was nothing short of fantastic. He nailed it. The audience erupted with a big hand after he put the finishing touches on his solo and rose to their feet in thunderous applause at the conclusion of "Blue Shades."

It was a fitting finale to a spring concert that was a consummate success.

Afterward, Chen, an academic whiz, was asked if computer science will eventually monopolize his future and take music away. Thankfully, Chen wants balance in his life.

His clarinet is here to stay.

Along with the entire spring concert, that's good news for music lovers.