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Fifth-grader Alexandra Palmer performs with the Valley Center Intermediate School band during the Mass Band Concert May 4 at Valley Center High School.

Year ends on high note
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: May 14, 2015

By Chris Strunk

It's half music and half spectacle.

It's the Valley Center school district's annual Mass Band Concert.

The 2015 version, under the direction of Jan Verboom and Amanda Jolly, featured nearly 350 students in fifth through 12th grades.

Music, laughter and hundreds of family members filled the gym at Valley Center High School May 4.

The concert was titled "Sound Portraits," named for the musical selections that took the audience "on a musical journey to destinations near and far," according to the program.

After the middle school jazz ensemble performed, the fifth- and sixth-grade band played "America the Beautiful" and "Cayuga Lake Overture."

The middle school band performed "The Curse of Tutankhamun" and "The Great Locomotive Chase," featuring sounds familiar to Valley Center residents.

The high school concert band performed "Of Sailor and Sea" and "Loch and Mountain," which Verboom mispronounced but quickly caught and acknowledged.

The concert ended with the traditional favorites "Gospel John" and "Fidgets," staples of the Mass Band Concert for more than a decade.

Senior Cole Klinkhammer stole the show with a brilliant performance on the trap set that featured a few bites of a Subway sandwich (to pass the time while fellow drummer Ethan Hogan finished his trap set solo).

But senior Wesley Crow took home the accolades and some money. The trombonist and drum major received a Hornet Service Award and the George Naylor $500 scholarship, named after Valley Center's former longtime band director and given to a graduate pursuing a career in music education.

Verboom and Jolly also announced the "outstanding band members," as voted on by their classmates, in each grade.

Seventh-grader was Lei Ann May, who plays the trumpet.

Eighth-grader was Dale Hatfield, who plays the tuba.

Freshman was Gabe Karst, who plays the trombone.

Sophomores (a tie) were clarinet player Miranda Dessenberger and trumpet player Evan Morales.

Junior was Devin Hatfield, who plays the baritone saxophone.

Trey Sampson, who plays the French horn, also received a Hornet Service Award.

The Mass Band Concert is the final concert of the school year.





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