The Bel Air High School and Middle School Jazz bands kicked off the week of winter concerts with a performance on Monday, December 12th. The 2 groups put on a show for a crowd in the Bel Air High School auditorium. The entrance fee was either a canned food item or a donation to benefit the Manna House, a food drive that helps families in the greater Baltimore area. For more information about the Manna House, click the following link http://www.mannahouseinc.org/.
The Middle School band, directed by Mrs. Sherri Domenico, started off the night. They played the songs “Blue Trane” by John Coltrane, “Away in a Manger” arranged by Paul Clark, “Holiday Gift Bachs” by Bach and arranged by Mike Story, and finally “Trumpets with Attitude” by Michael Sweeney.
The High School band, directed by Mr. Tony Domenico, went next. The first song was “Groovin’ Hard” by Don Menza. The song featured a saxophone group solo that was indeed, groovin’ hard. The next song was “Bellavia”, a tune written by Chuck Mangione and arranged by Victor Lopez. The song highlighted solos from Sam Bittle on piano, Devon Chona on trombone, Ryan Eckart on tenor sax, and Vera Kiefer on flute. The next song was a familiar holiday piece called “Santa’s in Town” by Fred Coots and it had solos from Ryan Eckart and Nick Rhodes on trumpet. Next came Duke Ellington’s song “Riding on a Blue Note” featuring a long solo by trumpet player Nick Reedy and a solo by pianist Austin Sbarra. The next song was titled “Tippin’ on the QT”, a tune by Count Basie. Austin Sbarra provided an intro on piano and there were solos from Karlie Scherba on trumpet, Katie Breese on tenor sax, and Devon Chona. The famous holiday tune “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, written by Martin and Blane and arranged by Alan Baylock was next on the list. Solo fills were provided by Sam Bittle and a mute trumpet solo was done by Elena Peretti. Next was “Deck the Halls with ‘Bones and Saxes”, a take on a well-known Christmas song written by Andy Clark. The next piece, a slow ballad called “A Child is Born” written by Thad Jones, featured solos by Austin Sbarra and Vera Kiefer. The next song was “St. Louis Blues” written by WC Handy. An intro on trumpet was provided by Elena Peretti and the song also highlighted solos from Shayla Lock on trombone, Steve Nam on alto sax, Josh Bock on trombone, Tyler Bielatowics on baritone sax, Matt Kenner on baritone trombone, and Austin Sbarra with ending fills done by trumpet player George Psichis. The last song of the night was a funky fan request called “Stinky’s Revenge” by Dallas C. Burke. The song featured solos from Nick Reedy, Devon Chona, and Vera Kiefer.