Oxford’s bands are Number One and they’ve got the ratings to prove it.
The OHS symphonic and concert bands both scored straight 1’s at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) district festival held here March 5-6.
‘I was very, very pleased,? said Band Director Jim Gibbons. ‘They worked very hard for this and did a great job. I was very proud of them. I wouldn’t say that I expected it, but I wasn’t necessarily surprised by it either.?
Thirty-one bands and one orchestra from 11 middle and high schools in Michigan performed at the district festival.
Ensembles at the festival are rated on a scale of 1-5 with 1 (or ‘superior?) being the highest rating possible. Each ensemble must perform three pieces of music, one of which must be from the MSBOA’s required list.
Earning straight 1’s, as the OHS symphonic and concert bands did, means all three judges gave their performance a 1 and they received a 1 during their sight-readings.
A sight-reading is when a musician or ensemble reads and performs a piece of written music they have never seen before.
‘As I listened to them, especially in the last couple of days before we went to festival, I thought that both of those bands had a very good chance of getting a 1.?
The OHS varsity band received a 2 overall. The ensemble scored well with the judges, receiving two 1’s and a 2, but the group fell short in sight-reading by scoring a 3.
‘The sight-reading was incredibly difficult,? Gibbons said. ‘I was really happy with how the varsity band did on music that was so hard. I think the sight-reading music was slightly unfair and I think the standard wasn’t changed to adjust for the fact that the sight-reading was so hard.?
‘I was very pleased with how the varsity band did. I was disappointed for the students that they got a 2, but I think they should be very happy because they worked really hard and did well on the stage,? Gibbons noted.
Oxford Middle School had four ensembles perform at the festival.
Both the OMS symphonic and concert bands received 2’s overall.
OMS Band Director Pat Parrish noted the concert band improved slightly as it received 2-1-2-2 as opposed to last year, which was straight 2’s.
‘We did achieve a higher level,? he said.
The symphonic band got straight 2’s for its concert performance and a 1 in sight-reading.
‘On stage, for our first two tunes, it was really great, but then we had some mishaps in our third piece that caused us to come down to a 2,? Parrish explained. ‘I was extremely pleased with the sight-reading. In my mind, that’s where musicianship is measured.?
The OMS varsity band performed for judges comments only as opposed to receiving numerical ratings.
‘That’s something I arranged for,? Parrish said. ‘This particular band doesn’t have full instrumentation. We don’t have a tuba, we don’t have a french horn, we don’t have a bass clarinet. I didn’t want to set them up for failure. I wanted the judges to provide comments to the band and me that are beneficial and will help them improve.?
‘We’ve got a lot of beginners in this band and some directors wouldn’t have even brought a band like that to festival,? he noted. ‘One of the judges said bravo for having this band come to festival.?
Performing for the first time at the MSBOA festival was the OMS orchestra, which scored straight 2’s under the direction of teacher Nady Benyamine.
Gibbons had nothing but praise for the orchestra. Given it’s only the orchestra’s second year in existence, he noted Benyamine could have chosen to play easier music or not go for a numerical rating, but he did neither one.
‘His straight 2’s are the equivalent of a straight 1 in my book,? Gibbons said. ‘That was a tremendous score considering it’s the second year of the program.?
This was the second consecutive year that OHS has hosted the MSBOA district festival.
‘We have a great site,? Gibbons said. ‘Within our MSBOA district, we have one of the nicest ? if not the nicest ? facilities for hosting. Again this year, we got tons and tons of comments from the other directors and parents about how friendly our students and parents were, how helpful they were, what a great facility we have. People are just very impressed. I will put in to host again next year and I can’t imagine we wouldn’t get it.?
As always, Gibbons was extremely grateful to all the parent volunteers from the Band Boosters who helped out at the event.
‘We absolutely have the best band parent organization,? he said. ‘I have the best group of band parents that a director could have. We’re very, very fortunate to receive all of the help that we get.?