On Tuesday, May 24th West High School’s Pavilion was filled with harmonic melodies.  “Bert Lynn Middle School, Jefferson Middle School, and West High School came together to perform and showcase their bands individually, and as a finale, all together, perform one piece,” stated Geoff Wong (10), a percussionist in West High’s Wind Ensemble. The West Area Music Festival left the audience joyful and content.

The dynamic songs kept the crowd entertained throughout the night. Pieces such as “Creed”, “Disney at the Movies”, “Michael Jackson Tribute”, and “Soaring with John Williams” were played by the three schools.  The event was successful in bringing the musicians of different schools and age together. Wong proclaimed, “The atmosphere was almost like that of a family because here are a bunch of individuals united by one love, which is music. And all of these people playing and creating music together just puts a smile on my face.” 

Hari Yim (10) said, “I enjoyed West High Concert Band’s Disney Medley. It was fun trying to guess all the different Disney movies that went along with it and it made me want to sing along.”  Wong said his “favorite part was getting to watch all of the bands perform a single piece together which was a song called ‘The Cowboys’ arranged by John Williams who also composed the Star Wars theme, the Superman theme, the Harry Potter theme, and many, many others.”

The performance by each school reflects the time and effort that each musician committed, and it can be concluded that the West Area Music Festival has been more than successful in conveying the students’ passion for music.