The Bridgewater-Raritan High School Concert Band recently attended the Westfield High School Band Invitational event at Westfield High School.
The event was held on Wednesday, April 24, and featured three different high schools from the region.
The Westfield High School Band Invitational event is an annual event held by the Westfield High School bands, uniting freshman ensembles from across the state. At this year’s program, three high schools were in attendance including Westfield, J.P. Stevens and Bridgewater-Raritan.
Ensembles play their pieces and then have the opportunity to work with a college-level band instructor in a clinic session, where the clinician reviews the piece with the group and help improve the quality of their musical performance.
The seventy concert band members departed after school on April 24 and drove up to the Westfield High School. The event started at 5:30 p.m. with the Westfield ensemble performing three different pieces.
Bridgewater then took the stage, performing two pieces under the direction of band director Mr. Nicholas Mossa. The band performed “Blue Ridge Overture” by Frank Erickson and “Shenandoah” by Frank Tichelli. After the performance, the clinician, Dr. Christopher Cicconi from Towson University, came to the stage to work with the ensemble and improve certain parts of the music.
Lastly, J.P. Stevens performed two pieces, and their performance marked the culmination of the evening’s program. In the background, band directors from other schools recorded audio tapes as the other bands played with live feedback. The concert band listened to this feedback during class following the event.
Band director Nicholas Mossa commented on his experience at Westfield.
“I am immensely proud of the hard work that the concert band has put in over the past few months in preparation for multiple concerts, including the recent trip to Westfield High School. I hope it was a great learning experience for them,” he said.
