Bringing together South and North Campus, the UCLA Symphonic Band is made up mostly of students outside of the music major who prove to be multi-faceted, as they take a break from their regular studies to play their instrument of choice.
This group of musicians will be bringing the UCLA community a concert tonight, featuring a wide selection of music that ranges from historic to contemporary.
Leading the large band of 123 players are head conductor Leo Sakomoto and guest conductors William Plenk, Jessica Swift, Courtney Jones and Amanda Hill. These students are under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Lee, who is the director of bands and conductor of the Symphonic Band and the Wind Ensemble.
“What he does is really great. He lets the graduate conductors conduct Symphonic Band,” said Sakomoto, a graduate student in conducting and Lee’s head doctoral student. “He’s involved, but he gives us a lot of the responsibility in running the rehearsals, programming the music that we play and just producing everything that is involved with the concert … which is great.”
With the various components to handle, the five student conductors have worked hard since the beginning of the quarter with the players in the band to prepare for tonight’s concert.
“There is a lot of shared responsibility between Leo and the people who are guest conductors,” said Plenk, a graduate student in conducting.
Plenk will be conducting a piece called “Washington Grays,” which is a march composed by Claudio S. Grafulla in 1861 at the start of the Civil War.
All of the conductors get to choose their own pieces ““ pieces that they enjoy and can be passionate about. However, these selections must be reviewed and accepted before becoming part of the concert’s varied repertoire of music.
“There is a system of checks and balances, so if I choose a piece I have to run it by Leo and Dr. Lee before it is official,” Plenk said.
Because of his late placement in the concert’s program, Plenk had to choose a shorter piece in order to give the players appropriate time to practice. Being involved with the band for two years now, Plenk is very excited to be conducting his piece for this quarter’s concert regardless of its length.
Sakomoto, who has been part of the Symphonic Band for five years, will be conducting Gustav Holst’s “Mars, the Bringer of War” along with a few other pieces. “Mars,” written in the early 20th century as part of an orchestral suite called “The Planets,” is true to its association with war in its discordance and power.
Adding to the variety of pieces is Hill, a third-year music student, who will be conducting “On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss” composed by David R. Holsinger in 1989. One of the more recent pieces, “On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss” is a softer piece suitable for a loving memorial.
As an undergraduate, Hill has been extensively involved in Symphonic Band since she was a freshman. This will be her first quarter as a guest conductor, which gives her an early start as she conducts alongside graduate students.
“The last couple of quarters I have been helping behind the scenes,” Hill said. “I’ve earned my time to actually get to conduct this quarter, so that’s really a great opportunity.”
The Symphonic Band proves to be a diverse experience because of its medley of students. Any student who can play an instrument and has a love for music can join the band.
“Symphonic band is really neat and has a really great vibe because it gathers people that are South Campus majors who don’t spend all day, like us, being music majors. Everyone is there because they want to be there, so it’s not like a forced group,” Hill said. “A lot of people like to come to Symphonic Band because it’s just a nice break from their daily schedule and classes.”
For these musicians, who enjoy devoting some of their time outside of their major to the band, the hours of practice will culminate this quarter at their concert.
“It is genuine music making with people that like to do it,” Sakomoto said. “(Symphonic Band) is a huge band that worked hard and we can’t wait to see what we can do.”