The music program put on a memorable show Friday night as it hosted its annual senior night, honoring 82 members of the Class of ‘26 who have inspired both teachers and younger students with their dedication. Leading the performances were choir director Shelley Durbin, orchestra director Michael Boitz, band and music program director Jason Shiuan and guard director Russel Crow.
Part of the show occurred in the McAfee Center for choir and orchestra performances, while the marching band and color guard did their show on Benny Pierce Field. The next day, they also performed at the Fremont Union High School District Marching Band Expo.
The choir performed three songs with accompanying pianist Nancy Whitecar. The repertoire included “Shoshone Love Song” by Roger Emerson, “Segalariak” by Josu Elberdin and “Falling Water” by Rollo Dilworth.
The orchestra performed in the order of Philharmonic Strings, Freshman Orchestra, String Orchestra and Saratoga Strings.
The repertoire for the Philharmonic Strings included “Water Reflections” by Yukiko Nishimura and “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Richard Meyer; Freshman Orchestra played “Brandenburg Concerto No. 5” by Johann Sebastian Bach and “Capriccio Espagnol” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; String Orchestra played “Triptyque” by Yasushi Akutagawa and “Festliche Musik” by Hermann Schroeder and Saratoga Strings played “Concerto Grosso Mvmt. I” by Ernest Bloch and “Serenade for Strings” by Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
Boitz views the orchestras as a program for not only performing ensemble music but also cultivating students’ musical skills, cohesion and understanding of a composer’s intentions. Each class starts off the school year differently, and with this year’s seniors, he has watched them push beyond their limits.
“[Seniors] Nolan Woo and Florence Wei have sat next to each other for four years. It was almost a sibling rivalry when they were ninth graders, and [now] they’ve grown into mutual respect and love as comrades,” Boitz said. “They take care of each other; they’re not competitive so much as cooperative and supportive — they champion each other.”
After the performances in the McAfee, many students within the orchestra rushed to the field as they prepared to participate in another performance, this time with the marching band.
The marching band performed its themed show “The Thread Between Us,” consisting of three movements of choreography and selections from four pieces: “Fence” by Moses Sumney and Son Lux, “Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber” by Paul Hindemith, “Oblivion” by Astor Piazzolla and “The Line” by Twenty One Pilots.
During their most recent marching band rehearsal on Oct. 9, the seniors led younger students by checking their field coordinates and spacing, calling out balance and timing and adding small choreography moves after sets. They were shadowing what their former upperclassmen, the Class of 2025, did for them.
“[This year’s marching band seniors] were a little insecure after last year’s pillars graduated, but now their eyes are opening to thinking ‘Hey, I’m pretty good at what I do.’ The younger kids are watching, just like they were when they were freshmen,” Boitz said.
Along with seeing the seniors improve, Boitz noted that he also gained 10 times more knowledge after he taught this class. He especially finds them “wickedly bright” and said that several seniors are drawing strong interest from college music programs — more than he can recall in past years.
During their senior showcase, Shiuan mentioned the lasting impact and importance of the seniors, stating how they were role models throughout the season, creating an environment sparking from sectionals that was based on pure enjoyment and love for the band, rather than only caring for the grade.
The music department awaits the Class of ‘27 to continue the positive trend of inspiring others to be passionate about music and dedicated to their progression and learning.
“When I look at a [senior], I look at a really bright future filled with hope,” Boitz said. “You see not only the kind of people they are, but how much they love what they do, and how much they’re going to keep and maintain the humanities as a part of our humankind and our human nature — that brings me a lot of hope.”
