On Friday and Saturday, March 8-9, 2024, the Orcas Island High School Band participated in the Invitational Band Festival at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) in Tacoma, WA. The festival formally invites twenty bands, twelve high schools and eight junior high/middle school bands every year. This is the third consecutive year that our high school band has been invited.
Student musicians enjoyed the experience of performing in the beautiful Lagerquist Concert Hall of the Mary Baker Russell Music Center, under the direction of Festival Director Ron Gerhardstein. Dr. Gerhardstein is currently the Interim Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music Education at PLU. Each school band performed for 15-20 minutes and remained onstage for a clinic. They also received a recording of their performance along with the recorded feedback. The highlight of each day was a midday concert by the PLU Wind Ensemble.
High School Band Director Darren Dix said, “The PLU festival was OUTSTANDING! The students played well, and were able to listen to four excellent high school ensembles followed by the PLU Wind Ensemble. They received excellent feedback on stage and while it was a long day, they really had some great feedback on what they noticed from the other groups and the adjudicators’ comments to other groups.”
Music Advocacy Group (MAG) is pleased to have sponsored this immersive musical experience for the Orcas Island High School Band. These off-island trips are valuable opportunities for student musicians to bond as a performance group and are vital for inspiring student musicians to continue taking their musical skills to the next level. We are grateful for the financial support we receive that makes such musical adventures possible.
The students shared their reflections about this trip in handwritten thank you notes that are shown here:
Music Advocacy Group 