Harwood Music presents first in-person concert in two years
Dec. 17, 2021 | By Lisa Scagliotti
After a two-year hiatus, Harwood Union High School’s Music program recently presented its first in-person concert since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The school’s choral and band students presented a program on the Harwood stage on Dec. 2 that was recorded by Mad River TV. Student singers and musicians were largely masked for the performances as were audience members who sat separated in family and friend groups in the auditorium.
Band Director Chris Rivers opened the program with remarks that acknowledged the difficulties student musicians have faced since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Because the virus is airborne, singing and playing many instruments was off-limits in schools for many months, he noted.
The small number of Concert Band and Choir members onstage attested to the fact that a fair number of students have opted to stop pursuing band and chorus classes last school year and this one.
Those who remained, however, displayed their creativity starting with a four-person drumline opening the event by entering from the back of the room. Rivers joined the Concert Band on trumpet as the group presently has no trumpet player.
Concert Choir added body percussion to their performance, incorporating clapping, finger-snapping, chest-tapping and more for effect.
The Jazz Band demonstrated that it has managed to stick together during tough times. The Assembly Band performed selections that it recently has included in student assemblies which have returned in person with limited capacity in the auditorium. That means they occur in two stagings, giving the band two chances to perform, explained Jazz Band Director Bruce Sklar. Last year, assemblies involved no gatherings and instead were produced as video presentations that students watched online.
A highlight of the show was the classic-rock Led Zeppelin tune, “Dazed and Confused,” by members of the Jazz Band featuring a marathon guitar solo by Jonah Halter that brought the audience to its feet.
Watch the concert on MadRiverTV.com here.