By Andrea Genovese Soares (March 9, 2004)

The high school band, made up of 78 instrumentalists, received superior ratings at the District 10 Festival on Friday, at West Potomac High School. It was the last band of the night to perform, but also the first one to receive from all judges a rating of 1 (on a scale 1 to 5 with 1 being the best). 
 

The band attempted to play the hardest level of music it has ever attempted: level five. There are six levels in total. As they do annually, the band members performed three pieces. They started with the march, "Nobles of the Mystic Shrine," by John Philip Sousa, which is a preparatory piece, that allows the members to warm up, leading them into the more challenging, faster, and stylistically tougher pieces. The march was followed by "Prairie Song," by Carl Strommen, a fast-paced piece that counted with huge amounts of fast tonguing, solos, and even clapping from the trumpet section. This piece was filled with contrast in sound, going from intense and dramatic to smooth and lyrical, so much so that conductor Mary Jo Webster’s baton went flying off the stage.

Band director Mary Jo Webster and her 78 musicians  received perfect superior scores at the District 10 Band  Festival last weekend at West Potomac High School. They  achieved these impressive ratings in spite of significantly  increasing the level of difficulty of their music. (Photo by Ann Torla)

Also, this piece counted with solos from Reed Anzalone (clarinet), Alicia Harstad (flute), Sean O’Connor (trumpet), Elizabeth Fortenberry (oboe), Maggie Person (French horn), Tina Parson (bassoon), Daisy Torla (clarinet), Robert Fullwiler (clarinet), Emma O’Hara (flute), Emily Walden (clarinet), and Phil Blush (alto sax).

To end the concert, the band performed "Symphonic Overture," by Charles Carter, another fast paced, dramatic, and stylistically hard piece, after picking up the baton. 

Solo clarinetist, Reed Anzalone, said that as a senior, he was "glad…that [the band was] able to do so well in our last year here." 

Mrs. Webster, after exclaiming that she was "speechless," said, "I was delighted with the band’s performance and glad they are getting the recognition they deserve for their talent and commitment to music." 

In a memo sent to the band, director Webster wrote, "This outstanding achievement is unparalleled in the history of the GM band program. The band students worked on the music with great diligence and great attention to detail. There were long rehearsals where they needed to stay focused for long periods of time. The band simply played at its highest level for the band festival and I am so proud of them. There were only two other high schools that received straight superior ratings and those schools had student populations two or three times larger than ours and also had auditioned bands that rehearsed outside of school. This was a huge achievement and I am delighted for the band students."