The Curtain Closes on Another (Last) Music Season

Crappy photos by Evan Brandt

The Pottstown High School Jazz Band performs at the school's Instrumental Spring Recital Thursday.

Yes, I know.

I said these videos and photos would be posted Saturday and its Sunday. Turns out there are only 24 hours in a day.

Besides, now you get the added advantage of videos of the Pottsgrove High School Jazz Band performing at the Cavalcade of Bands Jazz Championships in Chichester Friday as a bonus.

Senior Kyke Kratzer, who I am now told will pursue a career
in music technology at Millersville, NOT music education,
thanks Pottstown Band Director Mike Vought for four years
of fun and music.

(I did not shoot videos of Pottstown because I shot them at the spring concert the day before.)

As the father of a senior, and many of you out there know what I mean, Spring is a season of "lasts." The "last spring concert," the "last jazz band championships," the "last time I yell at you for sleeping too late."

You know how it goes.

The Pottstown High School Jazz Band performs
at the Championships at Chichester High School.

It seems that it tends to take on extra weight with the seniors, who are looking ahead to new horizons.

For teachers, it seems to be the end of a cycle they have experienced time and time again.

For parents, it is a milepost we will never pass again and one which inevitably has us looking backward.

But I will spare you those reflections. You're here to see videos. So here they are:

Pottstown Senior Casey Mest performs his solo on 

baritone sax at the Jazz Championships.

Herein you will find four of the five tunes played by the Pottstown High School Jazz Band during the spring concert and two of the four compositions played by the Concert Band.

I'm afraid my phone does not have enough space to have recorded performances by the clarinet and flute ensembles. (Sorry Mrs. Mest.)

The Pottstown High School Concert Band stands at the end of their concert Thursday.

You will also find three tunes performed by the Pottsgrove Jazz Band at the championships, which, by the way, stretched on until midnight and I did not stay to see final results.

 (Although I do know senior Kyle Kratzer won yet another solo award and Pottstown earned a rating of "Outstanding. And Pottsgrove earned a "Superior" rating although I do not know if they received, or any other awards. If you know, please email me at ebrandt@pottsmerc.com and I will add them to this post.)

Anyway, TO THE VIDEOS!



Next up was a new number: "Hurricane Season:"



Followed by "West Coast Blues:"



The Jazz Banded ended with "Hit the Bricks:"


Then the Concert Band came out and played four numbers. Here is the third:


And, as they traditionally do, the Concert Band ended the night with a salute to the five armed services, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.



And now, on to the Cavalcade Championships and Pottsgrove's performance at Chichester which, I must say, is a terribly inconvenient place to get to from Pottstown.

The Pottsgrove High School Jazz Band stands at the end of their performance in Chichester.

They followed with the obligatory slow number:

 f

And finally, the big finish!



The Pottstown concert season may be over, but the Pottsgrove season is just getting started.

Here are the dates and locations:

• 5/2/17 - High School & Middle School Orchestra Spring Concert @ 7:30 pm - High School
• 5/4/17 - Middle School Band & Handbell Spring Concert @ 7:30 pm - Middle School
• 5/8/17 - Elementary Beginning and Advanced Orchestra Spring Concert @ 7:30 pm - Middle School
• 5/11/17 - High School Band Spring Concert @ 7:30 pm - High School
• 5/13/17 - Lower Pottsgrove Elementary Art Show & 5th Grade Musical @ 7:30 pm 
• 5/15/17 - Lower Pottsgrove Elementary Beginning & Advanced Band Spring Concert @ 7:30 pm - Middle School
• 5/18/17 - Middle School Choral Spring Concert @ 7:30 pm - Middle School
• 5/24/17 - High School Choral Spring Concert @ 7:30 pm - High School

And so another music season goes by the boards and the seniors head off to their next chapter.

I will confess that without having a child in the schools, I cannot guarantee I will continue to perform this service, particularly as it costs money because I ain't paid to do it and each performances has an admission fee.

Hopefully others will share their videos with me, in which case I would be more than happy to share them with you.