On February 24th and 25th, Big Sky High School’s concert band participated in the University of Montana’s annual Concert Band Festival.
For the 27th year running, Montana’s AA schools came together and were paired up to perform and learn at the band event. The festival consisted of a 30-minute performance within the Dennison Theatre, followed by another 30-minute time when guest clinicians helped bands improve their performances. To end the day, high school students attended a performance featuring the UM Symphonic Wind Ensemble and a soloist in the Dennison Theatre.
The schedule was then repeated both days, according to the UM School of Music website.
This year, Gallatin and Big Sky worked together with Erika Svanoe. Svanoe is the current conductor of the University of Wisconsin, and she helped them practice and perform the piece “Touted Toucan Can Can,” which the schools then performed together the second day for a public audience.
In an interview with the Big Sky Sun Journal a few days before the UM Concert Band Festival, Ms. Prince, Big Sky’s band teacher, spoke highly of the event and of the event’s clinicians.
“Usually, their clinicians are really, really good,” Prince said.
Prince also spoke of Dr. Smart, the UM Director of Bands and Trumpets, and Dr. Griggs, the Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands. “Both provide really good feedback,” Prince said.
When asked about the soloist performer for the 2025 festival, Dr. Joanna Berg, the Principal Flute of the Missoula Symphony and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Flute, Ms. Prince also had nothing but good things to say.
“She does a really fabulous job on the flute, she’s come in and done some workshops with the kids and is just a really positive person.”
Ms. Prince also talked about the timeline of preparation, which went all the way back to January. In addition to the song performed with Gallatin High School, the Big Sky concert band played “Freilach Number 1,” a traditional Klezmer piece.
Klezmer is a type of music originating from Jewish culture of Central and Eastern Europe. Big Sky’s performance of the song included a solo section performed by Logan Heddick, a senior from Big Sky, Prince said.
The decision behind playing this piece came from the fact that it is not only a fun piece via its “intense harmonies that make it really different from typical American band literature,” Prince said, but also because it was the first Klezmer piece that the band has ever performed.
The band as a whole also played “Shenandoah” by Frank Ticheli, which is a classic band piece that finds its origins in the Shenandoah Valley within the Appalachian Mountains. Ms. Prince describes it as a “really beautiful lyrical piece.”
Lastly, the band performed “Florence and Alice,” a story about two women who started their own embroidery company. “It’s kind of comical and fun,” said Prince.
Alongside these pieces, Big Sky band students learned five more pieces for the AA Band Festival, which took place on March 3rd and 2nd.
Ms. Prince says the band was excited and enjoyed both events.
