By Araceli Uribe
The free admission band concert took place on Wednesday, Feb. 4. The Instrumental Music Area Concert which students performed from six elementary schools, Niguel Hills Middle School, and all of Dana’s music students. According to Mr. Caestecker, the purpose for younger students performing at the Instrumental Music Area Concert was “to recruit [middle school students] to Dana Hills High School, but also to inspire the elementary school students to continue music through middle school and through high school.” For the Dana students, they played a medley of music from the James Bond movie series; while the middle school and elementary students played music selections that they have worked on from the beginning of the school year. Mr. Caestecker said the high school students played “exciting music for the crowd to enjoy,” and due to the concert being a recruiting event, he finds that young children will want to listen “to music they recognize or stuff their parents will recognize.” Felix Kartchner, who has played the trumpet for 5 years, also testifies his favorite part of the concert was “playing the James Bond song” because he loves “the movie, so it was fun to play like a familiar song that [he] has grown up loving.” Mr. Caestecker also says he enjoyed the James Bond song they played, but he loved the middle school kids playing “a really fun arrangement of Scooby Doo that was super fun.” Towards the end of the concert, all of the elementary, middle, and high school students play “Pachobells Cannon” together. Mr. Caestecker says, it is “almost 200 musicians all at the same time playing.” The Dana Hills Music Band has another major concert coming up, the Spring Instrumental Music Concert on April 30.