Come together: County high schools perform as one at Kresge Auditorium

Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Robert Hedge conducts Greencastle High School band members in preparation for the Putnam County Band Festival. The annual event brings together high school musicians from across Putnam County, a situation that is unique to fine arts performances in Putnam County. The festival provides students the chance to meet and perform with students from other schools that they do not otherwise have the opportunity to play with. The event begins at 7 p.m. Thursday at Kresge Auditorium and is free for the general public.

Taylor Secrest and Rebecca Moore have a lot to be excited about this week.

Not only are the president and vice president excited to get together with high school musicians from all of Putnam County on at 7 p.m. Thursday, they'll each be taking on important roles as "first chairs" in the annual Putnam County Band Festival held at Kresge Auditorium.

"It's pretty awesome, come together and play some pretty cool songs especially when you have enough kids for all the parts so it's like a full-sounding piece," said Secrest.

The event features a different guest conductor every year, with Aaron Burkhart, director of bands for Lincoln Middle School in Pike Township taking on the role this year.

One of the unique things about this event is that it provides students involved in fine arts programs to play together and interact on a large scale with the community that is more akin to high school sports than percussion and band performances in Putnam County.

The festival features high school students of all ages, putting seniors Secrest and Moore on the bittersweet precipice of their last performance, and having earned important roles within the event.

"At first it's overwhelming (as a freshman) but, then everyone gets to know each other and what instruments they play and all that sort of stuff," Secrest explained.

As first chair, individuals are responsible for keeping their section in line, or in harmony. They must be sure that if someone is playing to loudly, softly, out of rhythm, or any number of things that might need "tightening up," that they communicate with band members so their section will work cohesively with the other sections of the band.

"Each person knows their part but, also making sure that no one part stands out from the others, making sure there's a balance within there," Secrest said regarding the responsibilities of being first chair.

It is a group experience that brings students together to say the least.

"It's more like a whole orchestra than each individual high school band," Moore said.

"It's a uniting the county kind of thing."

Secrest, a trombonist, and Moore, a flutist, have been participating in the festival since their freshman year.

Looking back on those four years, the pair spoke of their sophomore year in which funding was not procured and the event had to be scrapped.

Secrest's mother, Marjorie Secrest, started an endowment fund several years ago to be sure money would not be the cause of the cancellation of this festival in the future.

The Young Philanthropy Committee of the Putnam County Foundation has also helped to keep continuity for the event by funding grants specifically for the festival.

Each year, the percussion portion of the festival uses some form of unique way to create music, this year they will be utilizing trash bags and newspapers to create unique and original sounds.

Coming together and creating music as a whole remains a central theme for the students who participate in the festival.

"It's about one band, not three or four different bands," Secrest said.

The performance is estimated to have more than 200 students.

Admission for the event is free. The concert will begin at 7 p.m. at Kresge Auditorium Thursday.

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