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by Tom Boyle [email protected] The general public on Friday will get to hear the work of young musicians from throughout the county at the first ever Bands-in-the-Round performance. According to Kevin Vinson, THS band director, the event will feature the work of about 160 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from both Titusville and Meadville. As a highlight of the performance, Royce Hetrick, who presently serves as director of elementary bands in the Brookville area, will appear as guest conductor. Hetrick, a Punxsutawney native, has performed professionally with such greats as the Temptations, The Four Tops, Jim Nabors, Liberace, Kay Starr, Carol Lawrence, Aretha Franklin and Johnny Mathis. Vinson said in past years, when middle school musicians were taken to honors festivals, those involved had to leave Titusville at 5 a.m. and would not get back until late at night. �It�s hard (for a student) to find something good out of a day when you�re exhausted,� he said. Vinson and fellow band-director Lane Fortney came up with the idea of hosting the performance and of bringing in a guest conductor. �It gets the kids a chance to work with someone else and to expose them to a wider range of instruments,� Vinson said. Regardless, Friday still will be a full day for the young players. Vinson said the students on Friday will rehearse with Hetrick all day long in the THS gymnasium. Much of this time will be spent working on the three numbers which feature both the Titusville and Meadville bands. Although the players have rehearsed the music separately, Friday will be the first time the students will be playing the pieces as one unit. Hetrick will also be critiquing the two numbers each of the three bands will be performing separately. �They will play more in just that one day than they usually play in a couple of weeks,� said Vinson of the performers. Vinson stressed the performance is non-competitive. �In senior high, kids must rehearse to get a chair (to perform at a higher level). But this performance fits into the middle school philosophy of not feeling the pressure to be the best all the time and have to compete.� Vinson said there has been a great deal of cooperation inside the school district to make the performance work. But he feels in the end, the decision to hold such a performance in Titusville was a good one. �When we go to a festival, all we have to do mainly is to turn in the paperwork,� said Vinson. �Now all the planning and preparation is on us as the host. But the trade off is worth it.� Add a comment |
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