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Schools

Watchung Hills' Musicians Perform for Educators' Group

Combo adds woodwinds to Brass in Black group.

There’s nothing unlucky about thirteen. That’s how many Watchung Hills Regional High School instrumentalists were invited to perform before the New Jersey Music Educators when they convened on Feb. 24th at the East Brunswick Hilton.

The core group of eight musicians, “Brass in Black,” was supplemented by five woodwind instrumentalists to produce—in the words of their director, Bonnie Burgdorf—“a beautiful sound.” All are students in David Udell’s instrumental music classes as well.

Participants were Milonee Mehta, Celine Alapot Mike Parsons, Justin Strnatko, Monica Mahal, woodwinds; Naomi Smith (electric bass), Mike Griffin (percussion) Josh Geuren, Meghan Kovac Robert Scheiderman (all trumpet); Ryan Stetz (tuba); Mike Briski (trombone) and Anastasia Rick (flugelhorn).And, specially invited for the occasion, prize-winning trombonist Jake Behr, “Brass in Black,” so named for their stage attire, has appeared before many local audiences outside of school, such as the Pilgrim Congregational Church of Warren, the Hills PTO Fashion Show and the Teen Arts Festival, where the group has won “superior” and “excellent” ratings.

This is not the first time that “Brass in Black” has been invited to perform before the music educators group, said Burgdorf. In fact, the idea for “Brass in Black” was conceived some five years ago, when a similar student group was invited to give a demonstration at the annual event. With the encouragement of the well-known “Dallas Brass,” the black-clad group has flourished.

Many music educators hesitate to promote small performance groups, said Burgdorf.

“The idea behind it all was that a small group can be beautiful,” she said.

The addition of the five newly-appointed “Woodwinds in White” to the “Brass in Black” ensemble demonstrated how even a small group of instrumentalists can blend to provide a full, rich sound.

Substitutions and adjustments in musical pieces can be made to produce that effect.

The selection that the players performed, “Victory March,” as arranged by the Dallas Brass, will also be one of the pieces played by the entire 76-member Watchung Hills Marching Band when it takes part in the impressive parade that takes place on April 20th at Disney World.

The students’ demonstration before the music educators will have shown that small can be do-able as well as beautiful.


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