Lights dim. The conductor waves the baton as students lift their instruments and start to blow. Audience members lift up their cameras to start recording their children. Suddenly, the room is filled with ambient sound that lifts up the spirits of the people in the seats. 

At the end of the song, the room permeates with applause as the students stand and bow. 

On Tuesday and Thursday, the Coppell High School band hosted its annual Mid-Winter concert. The event took place over the span of two days because of the 384 students in the program. 

“My favorite thing about band concerts is when we can all play together, show people about music and show people what we worked on in the past couple of weeks,” CHS sophomore euphonium player Hayden Braafladt said. 

On the first day, CHS9 concert band opened the night, and CHS Concert Band I, Concert Band II, and the Wind Symphony Band followed. On the second day, CHS9 Symphonic Band, CHS Symphonic Band I, CHS Symphonic Band II, and the Jazz Ensemble played their pieces. 

“I always like the music,” audience member Churyl Cashion said. “It’s always very well thought out, very well played. It’s also very intriguing.” 

The particular piece that stood out on the first day of the concert was the piece “Diamond Tide” by Viet Cuong, performed by Concert Band I, and directed by CHS band director Adrian Castell. This piece featured an instrument that would not be typically seen in an ensemble: wine glasses. 

Cuong arranged the piece after scientists discovered how to melt diamonds in 2010. “Diamond Tide” recreates the sounds of the diamonds in the water, making the wine glasses a handy instrument. This piece kept the audience in awe and wanting more even when the song ended. 

CHS Wind Symphony band, being the highest band in all of CHS, played very diverse and elegant pieces that left the audiences with their jaws dropped. Their last piece, “Now is the Time” by Anthony O’toole, featuring Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The speech was projected in the side screens as the band played the piece, blending the two together. When the song ended, the band received a standing ovation for its rendition.

The concert featured songs with an emotional connection. CHS9 Symphonic band performed a piece called “City Trees” composed by Michael Markowski. 

“City Trees” contains a lot of musical growth, as the song starts slowly and adds more dynamics to it. According to Klontz, the song symbolizes the growth of the CHS9 band as it transitions from middle school to high school. 

“I like the community of band,” CHS sophomore flute player Kelly Kim said. “We’re all doing the same thing so we can relate to each other”.

The CHS Jazz Ensemble is unlike any other. Its blues jives really contrasted with the choral style of the band concert. The ensemble includes all four grade levels and all audience members, not just jazz fans, enjoyed their pieces. 

“We like to see what they have learned in the season and how they play as a group,” parent of CHS freshman Ananya Agarwal, Charu Agarwal said. “Some of the songs are really nice, and when we come here we’re really happy to see how they all perform together.”

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