As of: March 12, 2024, 4:07 p.m
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The Weilheimer Hochlandhalle was very well attended at the concert by the high school's big bands.
© Rudder
The focus at this year's concert by the Weilheim High School Big Band in the very well-attended Hochlandhalle was on big band classics from 100 years of jazz history.
The audience also heard newer compositions and arrangements.
Weilheim
– The big band at Weilheim High School has been around for over 35 years.
As school principal Andrea Martin emphasized in her short welcoming speech, she owes her great and long-lasting success, above all, to her musical director Arthur Lehmann.
Supported by teaching staff, he tirelessly encourages the musicians to achieve top musical achievements.
Successful for decades
In this context, thanks should also be given to the Weilheim Municipal Music School – they ensure that the next generation has the instruments.
The success of the big band is unique in Bavaria: it is regularly awarded first prize at “Jugend jazzt” and the Bavarian State Youth Jazz Orchestra recruits its young talent from it.
And the musicians from Weilheim repeatedly represent Bavaria at band meetings at the federal level.
The audience in the Hochlandhalle in Weilheim was able to see for themselves on Saturday evening that these successes are not undeserved.
It got off to a brisk start with the piece “Mattitude” by Matt Harris - and much more: confident, rhythmically precise entries, clean intonation, differentiated dynamics, sometimes virtuoso improvisations - and above all, the recognizable desire and joy in making music.
Many who discovered their love and enthusiasm for music as students in the big band have become professional musicians.
For example, musicians from “The Notwist” or Joshua Arnold – he rearranged their song “Another Planet” for big band.
The result is an interesting new version of the original title, in which a mysterious atmosphere is created, for example with the trumpets played with mutes.
Compositions by, among others, Sammy Nestico/Count Basie (“The Queen Bee”), Ray Charles (“What’d I say”) and Cole Porter (“Too Darn Hot”) were on the program, through which three former members of the Big -Band led.
Successful care of offspring
At the orchestra's spring concert, it is always important to say goodbye to the current graduating class, of which Julian Kuhar particularly stood out as a vocal soloist in, among others, "Moonlight in Vermount" and "Too Darn Hot".
In a ceremony that has already become a tradition but is always redesigned, the high school graduates said goodbye to their bandleader in a very personal way - including a birthday serenade sung by the audience in the hall.
They will leave a significant gap in the big band - but in order to continually compensate for this loss, Lehmann is continuously, systematically and very successfully cultivating young talent: in the Junior Big Band and the Mini Juniors - both bands of course also came to the event Use - fifth graders are given the opportunity to perform in public and also play solo - initially only with a few notes.
They stand on stage with full concentration, serious and proud, with songs like “Fast Blues” or “Night Shot”.
This provides strong motivation to practice the respective instrument and leads to the quite convincing musical achievements of the “big” big band within just a few years.
After almost two and a half hours: finale, minutes of stormy applause for the more than sixty musicians and two encores.
Fred Fabich