The St. Louis High School jazz and steel bands attended the 20th Annual Thornapple Arts Council Jazz Festival in Hastings Thursday, April 25, to play a great show.
The bands have been attending the festival for many years now, though the steel band is a newer addition to the festival itinerary. The day was long for both bands, though, as the drive to Hastings is a lengthy one and the jazz band was scheduled to play early. This meant a departure time of 6 a.m., which many students were not happy with.
“Leaving that early was the worst thing ever,” shared sophomore Harley Mader. Mader, a member of the jazz band, was quite disgruntled with the travel time.
However, despite the early departure time, the bands had a lot of fun playing. The first band to play, the jazz band, featured a great set and then had a clinic following the performance. Clinics are helpful for the students, as it helps them improve what they need to, and senior Rachel Jewell agrees. “Being able to hear from other people how we can improve, helps us to learn more about our sound as well as ourselves,” explained the senior. “They are also super fun to listen to because they show us a new way to think about music. For example, at Hastings, we did an experiment, which was fun and full of laughs while also teaching us how to cout our music better.”
After the jazz band got done, it was time for the steel band to perform. Right after lunch, the students got to work putting on an excellent performance. Freshman Annah Hess shared her thoughts regarding her first Hastings performance. “The performance was actually pretty fun because I played the gong pretty loudly and I didn’t mess up on ‘Seven Nation Army’,” she explained. “I’m looking forward to future performances and I would definitely play at Hastings again if we could.”
After the long day, the group returned to the school. This wasn’t the end of all things music for the steel band, though, as the band departed for New Philadelphia Friday, April 26.
