CHARLOTTE — The Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools Honors Band took to the stage Feb. 28 for its inaugural concert at the Fine Arts Center at Charlotte Catholic High School.
The arena hummed with the sounds of well-greased trumpets, flutes, trombones and clarinets and thumped with the rhythmic beats of the drums and xylophones. The beautiful results made it almost inconceivable to believe that just 24 hours prior, the band members had never played together.
The weekend ended with the concert as a grand finale, but the first-ever Honors Band had to work hard to get there.
“I’d like to think of it as a 24-hour marathon of putting all this music together,” said Ben Ranzinger, MACS instrumental music director and the architect behind the program. He collaborated with Jacob Bohan, band director of Charlotte Catholic, this academic year to launch the program.
“We have a lot of different schools that have really strong band programs, but we wanted the opportunity to be able to come together each year to perform,” said Ranzinger.
The Honors Band pulls from the finest instrumental talent in three Mecklenburg County middle schools and two high schools. All 75 musicians were nominated by their band directors due to their skill and dedication.
As St. Mark Band Director Christopher D'Allura explained, “with cramming challenging music into just two days' time, you have to just nominate your players who can handle the rigor.”
The 35 middle-school members were chosen from Our Lady of Assumption and Holy Trinity in Charlotte and St. Mark in Huntersville, while the 41 high-school members were from Charlotte Catholic and Christ the King in Huntersville. They performed pieces including “Barbarossa” by William Himes, “Barnburner” by Michael Story, and “Rocketship” by Kevin Day as if they had rehearsed together the songs all year long.
The grueling weekend of clinics, started after a half-day of school on Friday until 8:00 p.m., and continued from Saturday morning until the concert at 2:30 p.m.
Two clinicians stepped in for the challenge. Bohan taught the middle schoolers.
“We hope they come back on Monday totally different,” Bohan said. “Everything they did in the last two days is what we try to spend all quarter teaching them. I think they absolutely nailed it, and now the bar is set.”
At the high school level, Cougars and Crusaders spent their days sitting side by side, learning their new repertoires from Winthrop professor, Instructor of Music and Assistant Band Director, Dr. Kirstin Jeri.
“I am always looking to get out and work with students, whether at the middle school or at the high school level,” Jeri said. “We want to be able to support and get involved.”
Band directors from all five schools cheered on their students.
“This is a great opportunity for our kids that need a little bit more of a challenge,” said Tracy Shoff, band director of Holy Trinity.
Shoff taught many of the Charlotte Catholic band students at Holy Trinity and appreciates their progress.
“It is so nice to see them continue to love what they do, because you have to find your passion,” Shoff said. “That is the whole key in life.”
Charlotte Catholic student Wolfgang Burger, whom Shoff taught percussion, reflected, “I feel so blessed to do this. I have been playing percussion since 4th grade, and it has become such an important part of my life, and I love it.”
Now, Shoff teaches his brother, Otto, who is auditioning to be a tuba player in the North Carolina All-State Band next week and is also part of the Honors Band.
“They can make such great music because they have this innate ability, and when they all come together, it is just a magical thing. It is beautiful,” Shoff said.
Parents, like Kortney Ficke, could not be happier. Ficke thought the concert showcased her child’s potential, which he worked so hard to discover. Marshall Ficke, a sophomore at Charlotte Catholic, has played the drums and bass guitar since third grade, starting with School of Rock lessons and then progressing to the band at Holy Trinity. He is now part of the Honors Band, the jazz band and the pit orchestra.
“It is hard to put in words what this community has meant to Marshall, and the music, and the outlet it gives him at home. He is upstairs practicing all the time,” said Ficke. “He talks about doing this through college, and just to see he found his passion. It means a lot."
The Honors Band concept is more than a one-hit wonder in Ranzinger’s eyes.
“Having an event like this as a recurring tradition will give something for our older band members to look forward to each and every year,” Ranzinger said.
Bohan agrees, “This is not only a wonderful life skill, but it is also team building. It is all these incredible things that make each one of us who we are.”
— Lisa M. Geraci. Photos by Troy C. Hull
