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Caleb Salzman 0:07
Mid December is quite a busy time for just about everyone. Schools are ramping up. Tests are happening. People are furiously buying gifts. Snow is falling and concerts are happening. For most, a concert just means going to an auditorium and hearing some good music, but for the musicians, it’s much more than an hour or two of commitment. Today I’ll be walking you through the unseen sides of concerts, specifically the West Chicago Community High school holiday band concert, to shed some light on the hard working musicians and director and show how the band prepares, rehearses and plays for the concert. We start our journey in the halls walking to band class.

Caleb Salzman 0:45
Okay, who am I here with right now?

Nicholas Roskilly 0:48
This is Nicholas Roskilly

Caleb Salzman 0:49
what are we doing in class today?

Jessie Myers 0:51
Probably dancing

Nicholas Roskilly 0:52
Yeah, we’re gonna be doing run throughs of all our concert pieces. And percussion is gonna be dancing in the back for the last one.

Caleb Salzman 0:59
Oh yeah. We’re gonna be dancing

Caleb Salzman 1:02
more on the dancing part later, but for now, we’ve arrived at band class, and we’re gonna go talk to the director, Marisa Janiszweski.

Marissa Janiszewski 1:09
I’m Mrs. J I’m the band director.

Caleb Salzman 1:12
Awesome. What’s happening today?

Marissa Janiszewski 1:13
So today is our holiday band concert, which is gonna feature all three of our concert bands, our curricular concert bands, plus our extracurricular jazz band. In addition to our some of our middle school theaters, Lehman is bringing out their eighth grade band, and then we’ll do a combined number with them. And then we also have a couple students from Benjamin joining us for that as well.

Caleb Salzman 1:32
Awesome. And what are we about to do right now in class? Because this class right now?

Marissa Janiszewski 1:37
Yes, okay, so for class today, we are going to head down to the stage in the auditorium to do some run throughs out on stage to get a feel for the space, because it sounds different from what it sounds like in the band room. So basically, run through our entire concert. We’ll practice reading concert program notes. We’ll play through all the pieces, and then we’ll kind of just talk through the logistics to make the evening happen. All right, hey,

Marissa Janiszewski 2:09
Call Time is at 6:30 you need to be here in the band room. We’ll do some quick warm ups together. Jazzers will head out onto the stage to do a sound check while everybody else you finish warming up tuning on your own. If you’re not in jazz band, you need to be up in the balcony, in your seat by, I think I said 6:55, on the sheet, so you just need to get yourself up there. Okay, so other things that you need to know for tonight, oh, Santa hats or festive or keep it secret, right?

Nicholas Roskilly 2:46
saxophone warmup sounds

Marissa Janiszewski 2:48
Podcast right for to get ready for Christmas festival, you can deck out your instruments, put your stuff on, but save it for them. You’re the smartest people in this building, right? Like you are, like scholars.

Jessie Myers 3:00
Not the sharpest guy in the drawer

Marissa Janiszewski 3:09
Other things for this, like, as backup, so like, if you get to your spot and Great, okay, let’s head out to the stage. Please be quiet in the hallways. Don’t play, Don’t talk, don’t be obnoxious. Get out there. Start warming up. We’re gonna start with winter’s journey percussion.

Caleb Salzman 3:29
As the musicians were sent off to walk over to the auditorium, the usual tomfoolery from the percussion section ensued, leaving Miss J no choice but to hush us up.

Anderson Campbell 3:38
We’re in the hall.

Andrew Williamson 3:40
Did you hear what Nick said?

Anderson Campbell 3:43
Were in the hall.

Caleb Salzman 3:44
One of the members even managed to steal Diego, a Tupa player’s mouthpiece.

Marissa Janiszewski 3:47
Where’s Diego? Diego, what in the world?

Caleb Salzman 3:56
As the doors of the auditorium are opened, the silence is felt and until the percussionists walk in with their usual noise

Erick Sikma 4:06
I’m Eric Sikma. I’m a sophomore, and I play percussion. Where are we right now? We are in the auditorium, on the stage, yeah. What are we doing right now? We are rehearsing for the band concert. What are you most excited about? I am most excited to have the big audience to watch us play our music

Caleb Salzman 4:41
after tuning. Miss J reminds the band about proper concert etiquette and how the concert will flow between songs with the program notes in between

Marissa Janiszewski 4:49
No talking during program notes. And then what do you do when they’re done, beautiful until they get to their chairs right? Cool. The inspiration for this piece started with a phone call.

Marissa Janiszewski 4:59
Oh, keep going until their butts touch the chair.

Marissa Janiszewski 5:13
Alright, here we go.

Marissa Janiszewski 5:21
Start. We’ll do, do the thing, do the thing. No, not that thing, this thing. Okay, everyone plays that first note, Right? So, so locked In right away.

Marissa Janiszewski 6:22
Hi, so solos on that. Where are you? One, two and three. So the three of you will stand up. You guys can give them a little musicians applause for the acknowledgement on the solos, and then you’ll sit back down. Yeah. So roll out and face your audience on that cool. Okay, I think we’ll be okay. A little dragging in some of our usual

Caleb Salzman 6:41
after each song, there is always something that the band can do better. And Miss J doesn’t shy away from doing that. However, she always does that in a polite and tactful way, so as not to drag anybody down.

Marissa Janiszewski 6:51
four, four nostalgic section, right where we pass the melody around. Just remember, run alongside the train. If we have time, we’ll do it again. We got other things, minor operations, okay, let’s quietly transition and program notes. Why don’t you head on over and yeah, give that

Caleb Salzman 7:06
Timpani are very large drums that can be tuned to different pitches by pressing a pedal. It often takes a few seconds to get each Drum tuned for a song.

Marissa Janiszewski 7:42
Um, timpani, you ready? Oh, give

Marissa Janiszewski 7:48
me that beginning again. Give me the beginning again, just a little clunky. So a lot of you don’t play the first couple bars. Still be invested in what’s going on up at the podium, right? Because you’re still part of that performance. You don’t necessarily have your instrument, like, up ready to play, But like, be, like, engaged, Like, with Your face. Cool.

Marissa Janiszewski 9:09
Okay, this is the one where I will forget solos. I’m just gonna go solos. Then you stand, roll out, face your audience, right? And you guys can give your your soloist, a little acknowledgement. Yeah, you did it. Didn’t. I’m kind of feeling like I want you all to stand at the end of that one. Feel like that one deserves a stand. What do you think should we I feel like I know it’s not the end. Haha. What else? It’s not the stand rich. If it if it’s fire, I’ll have you stand. So be prepared. Image fire. We’ll stand. You’ll know before we get to the end if you’re standing or not. Okay, let’s do a quiet transition to Christmas festival. I will. I’m not gonna read all the notes, but I’ll give you an idea of how much time you have percussion. So this will be like your time to. Like deck your instrument.

Marissa Janiszewski 10:25
Okay, blah blah blah, thank you to these people. Blah blah blah. Thank you to the middle school people . Thank you parents. Thank you poinsettias? Pick up your poinsettia. Extra poinsettias? If you want them come get them. Uhm, anyways, heres Christmas Festival. It’l be a little longer than that.

Marissa Janiszewski 10:37
You can do better. What’s your number one job?

Band 10:39
Good tone!

Marissa Janiszewski 10:40
We’re like, okay, tone. you could do better. Okay, take in lots of air.

Caleb Salzman 11:01
Do you remember when I said more on the dancing later? Well, this is what I was talking about every year during the holiday concert, the band plays this song Christmas festival. The piece is very long and includes several traditional holiday tunes within it. The percussion section does a lot of waiting, because there are many sections in the song that only require one or two of the seven percussionists in this band at a time. So a few years ago, to pass the time, the percussionists began creating several interpretive dances with one dance even including beatboxing.

Marissa Janiszewski 11:49
Everyone stands at the same time. You have to back down. Do it again. Everyone at the same time, so watch no at the same time, yay. Okay, face your audience. No. Stand up if you’re on the end, remember, roll out. Can you keep clapping? Don’t fiddle with your music. Don’t pick your wedgie. None of those things, right? Just stand and smile. Accept the applause, even if it’s really bad, yes, okay, but you can percussion. No interpretive dancing tonight, right? Yeah, no interpretive dancing business, business tonight, no cuing with chimes. You can in your heart, in your heart, just give us business. All right, Hey, folks, quietly go back to the band room. No more playing out here. Let’s get the trombone some space. Nick, let’s have you practice your intro. Bye, see you tonight 6:30.

Caleb Salzman 12:57
Okay, the time is 607 and it is time to start getting ready for the concert. All right, we arrived. We’re about a minute late, but it’s all right, it’s no biggie. I’ve got my Santa hat here with me because we’re using it for one song. Gotta stay holly jolly folks. Immediately after walking into the band room before the concert, it feels like chaos. Over 100 high schoolers dressed in fancy black outfits are milling around playing their instruments or talking all while Miss J speaks to the masses through her megaphone.

Marissa Janiszewski 12:57
If you sit stage left, enter stage left. If you sit stage right, enter stage right.

Caleb Salzman 13:13
At this point, anybody who is in jazz band gets sent down to the auditorium to start warming up for the jazz band opener. The rest of the musicians are backstage or in the balcony.

Emily Gee 13:45
I’m playing my jazz piece because I low key, don’t know it.

Caleb Salzman 13:55
Without further ado, the jazz band kicks off The concert with Santas coming to town.

Caleb Salzman 14:23
After the concert is over, all that’s left to do is move the percussion instruments back to the band room and that’s it. I hope you’ve enjoyed experiencing what it’s like behind the scenes of a band concert from a percussionist viewpoint. Please go support your local musicians, because they work very hard to put these shows on for your enjoyment. Have a good day.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai