On Saturday, Oct.31, the Doane Concert Band (DCB) hosted its 34th Fall Festival of Winds. This event is an honor band, auditioned for and attended by high school students from all across Nebraska. The day-long marathon of rehearsals culminates in an evening concert opened by the DCB but mainly featuring the high school musicians: the Festival Band and Honor Band. This year, the DCB played “El Camino Real” by Alfred Reed, and seeing the awed expressions of the nearly 200 high school students when we finished was an incredible feeling. It made our months of practice on that piece feel so much more special and important.
The Festival is special generally, though. While getting in is competitive, it’s not as competitive as other honor bands, so for many high school students it is their very first honor band experience. We try to make it special and positive for them: Doane band students, including myself, volunteer throughout the run of the festival. We greet the high school students and walk them to the Communications building; we answer their questions about the Festival and Doane in general; we guide them to rehearsal and lunch spaces. We generally do all the work needed to make the day successful, led by the amazing DCB leadership team, who not only do all of the above items but also coordinate and lead the other volunteers. Our goal with the Fall Festival of Winds is to demonstrate to the high school students that music is something they can continue into college; it’s something that builds confidence and connections, as well as a beautiful community of friends.
We certainly succeeded at that goal this year. At our first band rehearsal after the Festival, Director of Instrumental Music Andrew Feyes spent nearly the entire rehearsal telling us about the extraordinarily complimentary response to the DCB’s performance, and the kind words and emails he’d received from the high school band directors after said performance. Dr. Feyes told us how moved high school students had been by our performance and how much they’d enjoyed being on campus. It was an incredible feeling: knowing that by showing up and performing one piece of music, we’d had such an impact on younger musicians.
For me, this Fall Festival was particularly special because my younger sister attended. She was part of the Festival Band, and they played some spectacular pieces of music that were a joy to listen to. I loved getting to see her in her element, performing and making music not only with friends from our high school but with friends she was making through the Festival experience. We hadn’t performed together in over a year, and I missed it. There is absolutely nothing like the feeling of performing – of making music and doing something you love – with your sister. Though, of course, our bands didn’t play any music together, being part of the same concert is a very impactful experience. Watching my sister perform filled me with so much pride, and I hope she continues to pursue music – as I hope for all of the high school musicians who attended this honor band.
The annual Fall Festival of Winds is an all-around impactful experience for both the high school students who attend and the college students who put on the event. We get to connect over our love of music, keeping it alive for years to come. It’s one of my favorite traditions the Doane Concert Band has, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s Festival.
