Band moments beat on

DawnDee Bostwick
The Duncan Banner

Fri, May 16 2008

— As graduations approach, many seniors are gearing up for post-high school plans. For many students, though, leaving high school won’t mean they’ll stop being involved in their activities. They’ll just be taking them to the next level.
Duncan High School band seniors are no exception. Cody Conklin and Lorenzo Diaz, two of DHS’ graduating band students, will continue on to college, pursing music as a degree.
For them, the chance to play on means an opportunity to expand and grow as musicians as they encounter new and more challenging material.
“The love for it, the love for the instrument, keeps you going,” Conklin said.
Diaz, who said growing up around music has influenced him to play, noted that it doesn’t just fill time, it fills in a part of who he is.
“I just like waking up in the morning knowing you’re going to play,” he said.
But graduation is still a few days away and before these seniors tuck in their high school career and say goodbye, they’ll have one last show to put on.
A percussion concert Monday and a spring band concert featuring the middle school and high school players Tuesday will start off a week of finales.
“I always tell the kids that this spring concert is the last time that this particular band will ever play together again in public,” said DHS Band Director Jeramy Haas. “It’s kind of a sad thought, but you also know the seniors are going on with the rest of their lives.”
The two concerts will be a good cap on a great year for the students. Earning Top 10 placement at the Oklahoma Band Association contest and an outstanding achievement award for concert band performance at a state level, the band also brought home its latest award from Branson, Mo. — outstanding band in its class from the Director’s Choice Festivals.
Giving them an extra chance to show off their talent, the percussion concert, new to DHS this year, will feature several students for whom the percussion ensemble is their secondary instrument.
Jeremy Smith, percussion director, said separating the percussion for an evening allows them to shine and play some different things.
“It also gives the percussion a chance not to be in the back of the band hiding. It’s a different type of outlet for them,” Smith said. The complete ensemble will come together Tuesday for one last show-stopping performance. With songs coming from the pages of pop culture, there will be something for everybody to enjoy, Haas said.
“The kids have worked hard,” he said. “We would love to have everybody and anybody come out to the concerts.”
Both shows begin at 7 p.m. and will be held in the DHS Auditorium.

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