Viking band shines in City by the Bay

Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, June 7, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO — The crescendo that has been the North Kitsap High School bands’ work this year reached double forte May 24-27 at the Heritage Music Festival in San Francisco, Calif.

And while for students the final excursion of the year was a chance to have fun and share the sites of San Francisco with their constituents, for director David Dunbar, it was all about business.

“For (the students) it’s a reward for them for the year of hard work they have put in, but for me I was working the entire time, stressing on everything, making sure that for the students everything ran smooth and they were able to have fun,” Dunbar said.

Judging from the NK Band’s Web site, which was updated over the course of the trip, the students had a blast.

“It’s nice to go down there to play and also have a good time,” said junior jazz bassist Jeff Cauter.

When asked which was better out of performing or experiencing the sights of San Francisco, he said, “I can’t really choose one.”

The NK Band excelled in both aspects of the trip.

In terms of performance, the NK Jazz Ensemble and Wind Symphony each earned gold awards and first place trophies in their categories, while the Symphonic Band brought home a silver award and came in second place of the instrumental ensemble category.

The trophy given out for the highest scoring ensemble of all those at the festival was awarded to both the NK Jazz Ensemble and NK Wind Symphony which each scored 93 points in competition. The band was also honored with an invitation to perform at Nationals next year in Boston, Mass., Dunbar said.

“The judges didn’t really have too much to say,” Cauter said of constructive criticism at the competition. “We’ve been working so hard just drilling and drilling and drilling, but that’s what you’ve got to do to succeed.”

Thanks to that preparation, the NK Band, as a whole, won the Instrumental Sweepstakes Award which is given to the school that brings at least three performing bands and accrues the highest overall scoring average.

“There is always things you can do to improve, so it wasn’t our best performance, but it was of a high caliber,” sophomore Karina Hoogstede said of the Wind Symphony’s performance. “I’d say as a whole, we were strong.”

The Wind Symphony also received the prestigious Adjudicators Award which is hand-picked by the judges and awarded to only one band from each category — instrumental, choral and orchestral.

“The award is not always given out; it is at the discretion of the judges whether a group is worthy of special recognition for outstanding performance,” Dunbar said.

Behind the scenes of the NK bands’ outstanding performance, students capered around the City by the Bay. With many stops including Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 51 and a cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge and around to the sites of the town, the weekend was jam packed with culture.

Now back at home, the bands are gearing up for their final performance of the year, which will be at 7 p.m. Thursday in the NKHS auditorium. The concert will feature the Jazz Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Wind Symphony and Percussion Ensemble.

For up-to-date information on the NK Band or to view firsthand accounts of the San Francisco trip visit their Web site at http://www.nksd.wednet.edu/schools/nkhigh/staff/ddunbar/band.htm.