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WBHS earns 7th in Class 2A in state jazz
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · April 17, 2014
West Branch took seventh place April 8 at the Iowa Jazz Championships in Des Moines after earning a wildcard to get into the competition.
Also, senior Justin Roth, who plays trombone, earned the Outstanding Soloist certificate for West Branch.
The high school band achieved its highest placing in eight years, when the band placed third in Class 2A in 2006.
“I was absolutely thrilled with getting seventh place,” Band Director Staci Speer said. “I had told the kids before we performed that as long as they had their heads on straight and had fun while they were playing, then I did believe that they could finish in the top half of their class.”
Speer called it a “good place for us.”
“I was extremely happy with how the kids performed and also very happy with receiving this placement,” she said. “It is a very big deal to finish in the top eight in your class at the Iowa Jazz Championships. This will give the band somethig to strive for again next year.”
Roth’s solo appears during the performance of “Angel Eyes,” which Speer said is a slow swing tune that features a “rather lengthy trombone solo.”
“Justin memorized this entire piece and came out in front of the band to play it,” she said. Emmy Shawver also had a solo in “Angel Eyes.”
The band also performed “Big Mama Cass,” composed by Don Sebesky and arranged by Andy Clark, and “Running of the Bulls,” composed by Doug Beach and George Shutack. “Angel Eyes” is composed by Matt Dennis and Earl Brent and arranged by Allan Horney.
“I wasn’t necessarily surprised by the placement, but more pleased with the placement,” she said. “Knowing how my students perform and knowing they can do amazing things, I wasn’t surprised at all with the placement.”
She said doing so well was a choice — to have a good time.
“I knew they had it in them,” she said. “Whenever they have fun while they are playing, they always, automatically, play extremely well.”
Speer said she knew the band had performed well the moment they finished and she saw their faces.
“Seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces and seeing the proud looks on the parents faces really made me know that the kids had done something truly amazing on that stage,” she said. “Seeing and hearing how excited the students were about receiving a placement and a trophy was also extremely rewarding. Their hard work and dedication all year brought them to this place. I cannot be more proud of my students!”
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