Middle school band students practice and perform at winter concert
Middle school band students participated in a novel winter concert that was part-performance and part-high-stakes practice session. Middle school band director Cathi Leibinger used the Spring Pre-Evaluation Concert on Feb. 13 at Swenson Hall to showcase her students' progress while also putting their burgeoning skills to the test in preparation for an upcoming musical performance assessment. Photo Gallery
Leibinger started the concert by letting the audience know that the RE Raider Band and Advanced Band were preparing for a concert band music performance assessment – which she described as similar to a standardized test for musicians.
She introduced four guest adjudicators – including upper school band director Jon Hamm – who attended the concert and recorded comments for the musicians for evaluation purposes later. She also gave the RE Raider Band a sight-reading test midway through the performance. From the stage, Leibinger distributed a piece of original music the student-performers had never seen before and required that they play it on the spot.
By all accounts, they did well.
"We still have a couple of weeks before our performance," she said. "This is not intended to be a completely polished performance; this is just: 'What do we need to do to get it across the finish line?'"
The audience heard large-ensemble pieces from the Beginning Band, the RE Raider Band and the Advanced Band. Beginning Band
Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.