A postcard is described as a small, commercially printed card, usually having a picture on one side and a space for a short message on the other. March 25th, the symphony delivered that short message in song.
The NIC Wind Symphony, conducted by Terry Jones and accompanied by the Coeur d’ Alene Charter Academy Band performed their concert, Postcards.
With nearly one hundred total musicians, the stage soon became crowded. The power of the symphony as a whole was incredible. Each note could be felt as a reverberation in one’s chest.
Though the message was short, its breadth knew no bounds. Cuba seemed to attain a sense of redemption in Cuban Overture, and The Seville Suite combined both a heavy Spanish influence with a Celtic twist, and an almost military style drum roll.
The NIC Symphony hoped that each piece would express, as they put it, a musical postcard, and Michael Harrison, the Carter Band’s conductor, chose pieces that would match the theme with a similar “worldly flavor.” Danielle Creekmore, an audience member, said,
“The concert themes are always very creative,” said Danielle Creekmore, an audience member.
The first piece begins somberly, but develops into a rich and energetic song that fully lives up to its name, Celebration of Life. The composer, Ralph Hultgren, describes the piece as a statement of Jewish existence and being. To do it justice, Harrison helped the students, “capture their inner Hebrew, their inner Jewish musician.”
The second piece was also intriguing, constantly changing, and it required a number of impressive feats, where the musician would cross the stage in the midst of the piece in order to change instruments.
A Basque Lullaby soothed all the wailing infants in the crowd.
And in the second of the Armenian Dances, the percussionists put on a lovely display of skill; by the third, everyone’s feet were tapping along to the beat.
The Charter Band ended their half of the performance with Go, Go, another Armenian Dance that embodies the pattern of laughter.
Jones ended the concert with a thank you to all those involved: the symphony community, the Charter Academy, and, most importantly, the stage crew. The removal of glitter is no easy task, but somehow the stage crew manages it between every glittering performance.
The musicians were proud of their concert, which not only contained difficult pieces, but was performed after only seven rehearsals. Micah Strom, a NIC student who plays first trombone, said he was somewhat worried during the last rehearsal, but that everything came together for the final concert.
But it’s not just the high of putting on a beautiful concert that brings the NIC Wind Symphony together. Jones stresses that the community aspect is what makes the band and their music really special, and Strom agreed.
“It is definitely a family. Everyone here– we support each other.”
“What you hear when you come and listen to a concert are people who get along and have worked hard for something. The product is pretty darn nice. At that point, I’m just waving my arms,” said Jones.
