TOHS band presents its winter concert
Concert review
By Cary Ginell soundthink@aol.com

The Thousand Oaks High School bands, under the direction of Marty Martone, last week capped off an eventful semester with an impressive Winter Concert at the school's Performing Arts Center.

Only weeks before the Dec. 11 concert, the young musicians were serving in the school marching band, having scored the highest marks of any school in a recent Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association competition in Moorpark. At the concert the smartly dressed youngsters- many of the boys wearing their very first tuxedos- performed for the first time concentrating solely on music rather than the intricate movements required for the marching band.

The program was divided into five segments, with most of the numbers celebrating the holiday season. The first to perform was the Symphonic Band, conducted by staff assistant director Mike Freed. "Regalia," by veteran composer John O'Reilly, centers on a grand, martial theme played in two sections, sandwiching a wistful melody played by the flutes.

"Carol of the Drum" is really an arrangement by Floyd E. Werle of the holiday favorite "Little Drummer Boy," which many might be surprised to learn is relatively modern, written in 1958. The group's final number was the traditional carol "Angels We Have Heard on High."

The Wind Symphony followed with three selections, beginning with a Robert W. Smith arrangement of "In the Bleak Midwinter," spotlighting a pair of elegant clarinet solos splendidly played by Nicole Haydt and Brian Ginell (this proud correspondent's son).

The "Ukrainian Bell Carol," sometimes called "Carol of the Bells," was given a Spanish flavor in an arrangement by Sean O'Loughlin. The segment concluded with Elliot Del Borgo's "A Christmas Tryptich," consisting of three carols: "As With Gladness," "Coventry Carol" and "Good King Wenceslas." The crisp, welldisciplined performance was highlighted by solos from flutists Timothy Yao and Gabi Polkes.

The next segment featured the Wind Ensemble, which departed from the Christmas theme by leading off with Frank Ticheli's "Vesuvius," in honor of the band's upcoming performance in Rome, Italy, on New Year 's Day. "Vesuvius," named for the legendary Italian volcano, is an atmospheric piece, emphasizing percussion to convey the volcano's spasmodic eruptions. Ticheli also arranged Schubert's beautiful "Ave Maria," with a flute solo by Rachel Gardner.

As the evening marked the last night of Hanukkah, the band performed "A Hanukkah Celebration," a medley of four songs: "Hanukkah, O Hanukkah," "Dreidel, Dreidel," "Mi Yemalel" and "Maoz Tzur" ("Rock of Ages").

The group concluded with Kenny Bierschenk's "A Festive Christmas," the latter a popular medley written in 2003 featuring "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," "Pat-a-Pan," "The First Noel," "Here We Come A-Wassailing," "Stille, Stille, Stille," "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" and a snippet of other familiar carols.

The group of students going to Rome this month is one of nine American bands invited to perform in Italy. Director Martone featured those students in an unscheduled trio of songs, leading off with John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever," in a rousing performance that garnered a standing ovation. Since the American bands were requested to perform American songs, the band also played "Rise and Shine" (a perennial Martone favorite) and a medley of tunes from "A Chorus Line."

As a finale, the band played a sampling of American favorites, including "America the Beautiful" and "Yankee Doodle," which Martone announced would be played in Italy by all the members of the American bands together- some 700 musicians.

All of the bands packed the small stage for the final set, which included "King of Kings," "White Christmas" (complete with an indoor snow flurry), Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" and finally, a "Christmas Pop Singalong," in which the audience was encouraged to join in on such holiday favorites as "Silver Bells" and "Rudolph, the RedNosed Reindeer."

Marty Martone and every band should be congratulated for a fine performance that left everyone in good cheer.