Concert features Lincoln High, Yuba College bands

Something unique will occur Friday night on the Lincoln High School campus."This has never been done before, a college community band performing here," said Becca Carol.Carol, a junior at Lincoln High, is one of three musicians who will play with both Lincoln High's band and the Yuba Community College symphonic band.The special performance, which also includes the Yuba College jazz ensemble, will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Lincoln High theater.Carol noted Yuba College has about 50 musicians in its band while Lincoln High has about 25."That's about 75 people on stage," Carol added. "It's really going to be something to see."Both bands will perform separately as well as together, noted Lincoln High music director Deanna Wiseman, who also plays with the Yuba College band, along with Lincoln High seniors Daniel Palmer and Daniel Staus.Wiseman said it's really not that difficult to get two separate bands to play as one. The hardest part is getting used to the conductor, which, in this case, will be Wiseman.Her Lincoln High students already are used to her leading the band, and she has been rehearsing with the Yuba College band."They have to get used to me, to trust me that I will keep the tempo the same," Wiseman said of the Yuba College musicians. The bands will perform three songs as a tribute to Aaron Copland, featuring "Fanfare for the Common Man," "Simple Gifts" and "Appalachian Spring." High school students Hayley Engbrecht on clarinet, Katie Richardson on flute, Carol on piccolo, Palmer on bassoon and Victoria Surgener on trumpet will be featured as soloists.The dual-band performance caps the first half of the concert, which opens with Lincoln High band performing selections from "Mr. Holland's Opus" and a chorale and processional by Rex Mitchel, featuring a trumpet duet by Victoria Surgener and Alberto Franco.The high school band also will play "Echoes of Spain" by Ralph Gingery and "Heaven's Light" featuring flute soloist Richardson, Engbrecht on clarinet, Andrew Parks on saxophone, Surgener on trumpet, and Kyle Nichols and Bertha Magana on mallet instruments. Edvard Grieg's composition "In the Hall of the Mountain King," the fourth movement of Suite 1, opus 46, follows.Following a brief intermission, the Yuba College symphonic band will play six pieces. The band will play a medley from "The Empire Strikes Back" by John Williams, "Fanfare for the Great Hall" by Jack Stamp, "Pacem" by Robert Spittal, and "Esprit De Corps by Robert Jager.In addition, the Yuba College band will spotlight bassoonist Palmer in Stravinsky's "Berceuse" and "Finale" from "The Firebird."Palmer has been playing music for four years."I got involved by accident," he said. "We were choosing classes in eighth grade for high school and I didn't know what I wanted to do. So I signed up for band."Playing with Yuba College is quite different from playing with the high school band, Palmer said."It's a lot more advanced," he said, adding he joined the Yuba College band because he wanted to advance his skills."Carol, who plays both flute and piccolo in the two bands, said playing with Yuba College has been a challenge. She noted the Yuba College musicians are not stuck up; in fact, they do not get on a musician's case if he or she makes a mistake. She began playing music in a band in the seventh grade."It was hard at first," she said, "but once I got the hang of it, it was really cool."Carol's favorite part of the program will occur when Yuba College's band plays the selection from Star Wars."I get to solo in it," she said.Staus also is looking forward to the Star Wars piece."People will really recognize it," said Staus, who plays bass clarinet in both bands. Staus began playing in the band four years ago because his friend Palmer was in it and told him it was fun.Staus particularly enjoys playing in the Yuba College band."They take their music a lot more seriously," Staus said. "They also perform at a higher level. It's really challenging."Staus added the Yuba College musicians also seem to appreciate more the contributions of the other musicians, making it a more enjoyable experience for him. Wiseman returned to Yuba College this year after majoring in music at the school from 1990-1994. She plays baritone saxophone in the college symphonic band as well as tenor saxophone in the jazz ensemble. The concert concludes with the college's 16-piece jazz ensemble performing a selection of music from blues to rock to swing and Latin tunes. The audience is encouraged to dance. The evening is free, but donations will be accepted at the door. The suggested donation is $5. All proceeds go to the Lincoln High School music department for new music and for the repair of broken and antiquated instruments that have fallen out of performing condition.