What a S’wonderfull night
November 14, 2014
On Wed., Oct. 29, Downey High School’s jazz ensembles performed their annual fall concert in the B building auditorium. Doors opened at 7 p.m., rounding in a full house. A total of five groups held the stage that night, closing around 9 p.m.
The improvised jazz group opened up the show, playing a rendition of Pharrell’s latest hit: “Happy.” Jazz combo, and then, Jazz band 1 subsequently followed Improv’s performance. Among Jazz band 1’s songs were “Ridin’ the E Train” and “Denton Standard Time”.
After 15 minutes of intermission, Jazz Choir took the stage. Their songs of the night were “S’wonderfull,” “At The End of the Day,” and “Way of the World.” Finishing off the night’S EVENTS was Jazz band 2, playing “500 Miles High” and “It Had To Be You.”
This concert, like past years’ fall concerts, was hosted by the jazz ensembles; that is, music directors expressed pride towards their students’ musical progress. Music director Cornelius Olairu boasted about his students this far into the year.
“I pushed [my students] farther than they thought they could handle,” Olairu said, “but let me tell you, it paid off.”
Students also took pride in the results of their excessive practices and dedication. Maricela Navarro, a junior in jazz choir, was not the biggest fan of all the rehearsals she attended, but stated she was amazed at how far her and her group had come.
“[Olairu] would make us stay so much after school; I practically didn’t have a life,” Navarro said, “But we sounded really good on Wednesday, so it’s okay.”
Students who watched the bands themselves observed all the hard work and dedication that must have been put into the rehearsals leading up to the concert. Junior Alexis Guerra, herself in marching band, attended the jazz concert in a seat at the auditorium.
“They sounded pretty good,” Guerra said. “And as someone who’s in band herself, I know you don’t just get ‘good’ over night.”
The next concert to feature the jazz ensembles will also feature the other music groups at Downey High, including beginning and advanced choir, and concert band.
In her free time, the 16-year-old introvert enjoys going on the internet, writing poetry, and playing Mario Kart. Musically, Gallardo’s tastes range from 80s-nostalgic tunes by The Smiths and The Cure to more modern alternative jams by Mac Demarco and Tame Impala. In the future, the writer sees herself attending a university somewhere in Northern California, where she wants to either continue her writing career or become a preschool teacher. But for now, she enters her second year with unassailable high hopes and a bright future.
When she is not busy with drum line and school, she spends time with her two older sisters or her half-brother. Sometimes, when she is alone in her room, she listens to her favorite band, My Chemical Romance, while drawing different sketches of anything she sees or imagines. When she is hungry, she always prefers pasta. “Any kind of pasta is my favorite,” Guzman said,“ I love Italian food.” Though reading is never on her top priority list, she read The Fault in our Stars this summer and fell in love with it. Because she is only a sophomore, Guzman does not yet know what she wants to do after high school, but she does know that she wants to go somewhere far. In a few years she sees herself living an independent life while chasing her dreams. All in all, she just hopes for a fun, easy year.
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