Bands return from San Diego

By Cliff Djajapranata and Chloe Sommer,
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–

After leaving on the Friday afternoon that concluded AP testing, the Davis High bands returned from their annual spring tour on Tuesday night.

This year, the bands traveled to San Diego for five days. The trip presented opportunities to learn more about music, as well as share music with audiences away from home.

Band director Thomas Slabaugh believes that trips such as this serve a variety of purposes.

In previous years, the bands participated in music clinics at a university, but this time only performed.

The bands performed in two different groups, the Jazz Band and the Wind Ensemble, which was a combination of students from the Concert, Symphonic and Jazz Bands.

Students played  in many of San Diego’s hot spots; on the second day of the trip, the Jazz Band performed in Balboa Park after touring the San Diego Air and Space Museum.

Later that day, the Wind Ensemble had the opportunity to play just inside of the gates of Petco Park, the home stadium for the San Diego Padres. After their performance of fun and peppy songs before the game, the bands watched the Padres’ game against the Washington Nationals, which they lost 4-1.

Both the Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble performed for shoppers at Seaport Village, an outdoor shopping area along the San Diego harbor, and the Wind Ensemble performed its set on the deck of the USS Midway, a retired aircraft carrier that is now a museum.

Despite a number of performances, students had plenty of free time, touring the famous San Diego Zoo and the USS Midway. Students also spent the third evening on in a San Diego beach, which included a barbecue and bonfire.

Slabaugh conducted all of the band performances, but enjoyed moments of the trip away from the stage as well.

Trip organizer and band parent Katie Horn also enjoyed the barbecue. Horn believes that experiences like this year’s band trip may inspire future music careers.