Music department keeps in time with March Madness

As second semester kicks into high gear for students with tests and projects constantly looming over the horizon, the music department also dives into its own “march madness” of sorts.

To put it in the words of music director Michael Boitz, “March is the ultimate month of performances for the music department. As soon as we get back from February break, there is something going on literally every weekend.”

The month started with the MESH benefit concert on March 1, featuring performances by elementary and middle school chamber groups mentored by high schoolers.

The Winter Percussion and Winter Guard were equally as busy with more than half the weekends of the month occupied with events and tournaments. Winter Percussion placed first at the American Canyon High School tournament, while Winter Guard qualified for the WGI Regionals at Union City on March 16-17. The choir has remained busy as well, hosting and performing in the choral CMEA from March 8-9.

The spring series concert lasted through the week of March 10 with the concert bands performing on March 15 and orchestras on March 16. Looking forward, the department still has the band and orchestra CMEA festival to host from March 22-23, in which all instrumental groups will participate.

In preparation for these events, the ensembles have been diligent with practices both during school time and after, resulting in many conflicts, especially with sports and robotics.

Boitz was especially proud of the individual time management and responsibility of students in the program.

“If I hold up the calendar, there are kids coming and going every single rehearsal from thing or another,” Boitz said. “What I love about our group is that kids are able to do athletics, forensics, robotics, and we work it out so that they can do both.”

The woes of intricacies of scheduling are only further compounded by the difficulty of the music and level of musicianship upheld in the programs. Top groups in the program regularly work on collegiate level music, requiring maximum commitment from both individual members and the group as a whole. On top of this, many students participate in multiple groups, practicing and performing double, sometimes triple, the normal workload.

For freshman Joseph Jung, who plays oboe in freshman band and Saratoga Symphony Orchestra and vibraphone in the front ensemble and Winter Percussion, the process is both a challenge and rewarding.

“It’s hard to juggle sometimes, but usually there’s enough time during practice time for you to keep up,” Jung said. “I have fun doing it and practicing at home so it’s not painful.”

The hours of practice culminate in the orchestra and band CMEA Bay Area Sectional.

The department’s hosting responsibility also adds further complexities and stress to the already overloaded month, requiring both large number of student volunteers and early planning, Boitz said.

This stress isn’t necessarily harmful; for Boitz and the program, the time investment and stress of the month are what give it meaning.

“These musicians were always chasing a carrot they were never going to catch because we are always trying to make music better,” said Boitz. “I feel like, ‘OK I’ve done everything I can do, so let’s do it!’ ”