Concert showcased “exceptionally talented” group of students

Photo courtesy Sobrato Band

By Calvin Nuttall

Photo courtesy Sobrato Band

When the Sobrato High School band stepped onstage at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City, they could scarcely believe their dream had come true. The  young musicians would soon showcase their exceptional talent under the guidance of their passionate band teacher, Greg Chambers.

“It was still surreal even when we were actually there,” said Sam Hogen-Esch, 16, a junior band student and percussionist. “The reality of it hadn’t hit yet.”

The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was made possible by the efforts of Chambers who has been working on making this epic field trip a reality since 2020. His first efforts at getting the Sobrato Band to the Big Apple fell through due to the pandemic.

“It took four years and a lot of planning to make sure we were ready for this kind of endeavor,” he said. “A lot of music programs got decimated by distance learning, not just here but throughout the state and country. I realized I had a pretty talented group this year, and we started going to lots of festivals during our first two years being back, and scoring pretty highly, getting unanimous superiors at CMEA (California Music Educators Association) festivals. I felt we were ready for something like this.”

The band practiced intensely during the leadup to the concert, even scheduling time outside of class to meet in groups to work through difficult sections of the music.

“These pieces were extremely challenging, and very tasking of us,” said Rebekah Latin, 16, a sophomore percussionist. “After the amount of time we put into practicing, having that big payoff at the very end with that performance and getting to see how hard your work paid off was very freeing. Honestly, I think it might be the highlight of our high school experience.”

The planning and preparation finally came to fruition March 25 when the band took the stage at Carnegie, as a part of Manhattan Concert Productions’ “Symphonic Series and Songs” concert. They were joined by two other high school bands from Laguna Beach and Spokane, Wash.

Prior to their performance, as a part of the experience, the Sobrato students received a one-hour coaching session from Peter Booneshaft, a well-known composer and music educator.

“Even within just that hour block of time, we got so much feedback that we applied to our concert in Carnegie Hall that made our performance 20 times better,” said Gracelynn Roberts, 16, junior percussionist. “Even just that little bit of extra perspective helped us improve so much.”

Photo courtesy Sobrato Band

The band’s opening piece was “Overture to Candide,” by Leonard Bernstein, chosen because of Carnegie Hall’s significant role in the legendary composer’s musical career.

“He got his start filling in at the last moment at Carnegie Hall,” Chambers said. “Since then, he has had hundreds of performances there. It’s also kind of a big year for Bernstein in general, because there was a movie that was made about him by Bradley Cooper called “Maestro” that came out, so I felt like we should kinda ride this wave of celebrating him and his legacy.”

The band next played “The Grace in Being,” by Julie Giroux. Chambers felt it was important he include the work of a female composer in the set, in order to make sure all of his students felt represented.

“A few years ago, I had some students ask, ‘Are there female composers in music?’” he said. “And it made me really look at who I was programming, to make sure there is enough diversity. A lot of time with orchestral music, we think of old, dead white guys. By the way, her piece is great enough to just stand on its own.”

Photo courtesy Sobrato Band

The band concluded their performance with “Arabesque,” by Samuel R. Hazo, a popular piece among the students since local South Valley Symphony played a version adapted for the orchestra last fall.

“I think, of the three pieces, that was probably the most well-loved by the students,” Chambers said. “They really liked that piece, and I wanted to make sure they had a say in what was programmed, too.”

Despite the occasional hiccup, the band sailed smoothly through their performances. They came out of the experience swelling with pride.

“I think they probably played the best I’ve ever heard them,” Chambers said. “You couldn’t hope for anything better than that. As musicians, we’re trained to think there is always something to work on, so as we get our recordings back we’re going to apply those lessons to other pieces that we study. Nonetheless, I was super proud of them, because that was honestly the best I’ve heard any of my groups sound. It was a really nice culmination.”

Photo courtesy Sobrato Band

The students agreed, saying that though they may have been nervous to play in such a venerated venue, everyone did their part.

“We all walked off of the stage feeling so incredibly good about how we played,” Hogen-Esch said. “That’s a feeling I don’t think we’ve all felt collectively before.”

Roberts credited Chambers’s tutelage for building the students up in preparation for the performance.

“He is really good at lifting our spirits,” she said. “There are a lot of people in band who are overly critical of themselves, and sometimes that affects them. And you can see in the students that they are beating themselves up. He knows how to bring out the good parts, and he knows how to see the good in what we have accomplished while still providing constructive feedback.”

Out-of-classroom experiences such as this memorable field trip are essential for building engagement in students, Chambers said. In order to provide these experiences, arts programs require robust funding. Sobrato’s band program relies on the support of donations and volunteers from the community. Some people have raised concerns that looming budget cuts at the school district level may impact the program.

“Luckily, something that is hitting at a really good time is Prop 28,” he said, referring to a measure voters passed in 2022 to fund arts education. “It has taken a while for the funding to actually hit, but that money is outside the Department of Education money, and it is slating specifically for music and arts funding. While we have this major deficit happening, there is also guaranteed money to support the arts. We have really great parents and community support, but it costs a lot of money to run a music program.”

Calvin Nuttall is a Morgan Hill-based freelance reporter and columnist.