Gilbert bands take home awards

WINSTED — Young musicians from The Gilbert School have returned from a successful bus trip to Annapolis, Md., last week, where they took home two silver awards and one bronze award in regional band competitions.Scott Minnerly, director of the Gilbert Jazz Band and Gilbert Symphonic Band, said the two groups showed professionalism and skill as they won silver awards for their performances of popular marches and ballads, including Karl L. King’s “Hosts of Freedom March.” The school’s Concert Choir, directed by Adam Atkins, earned the bronze for performances of the Western hymn “Ubi Caritas” and the Shakespeare-inspired “It Was a Lover and His Lass.”Minnerly said the trip went remarkably smoothly, with students and chaperones covering a lot of ground. “We had a full schedule. We made it to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, saw a performance by the Naval Academy Glee Club in Annapolis and made it to Washington, D.C., on the last day,” he said. The four-day, three-night stay finished up Sunday, April 3.“We were excited about this trip, and being able to see the Navy glee club concert,” Minnerly said. A total of 42 students in grades nine through 12 participated in the trip, with many students appearing in multiple bands. Thirty students are members of the Symphonic Band, with 18 in the Jazz Band and and 17 in the Concert Choir. In an “American Idol”-like setting, the bands performed for three judges who sat on a raised platform in front of the stage. Behind the judges was audience of peers from other high schools. “The challenge is to not get nervous when you’re onstage.”Minnerly noted that he and other chaperones received random compliments from people during the trip who said the students were exceptionally polite and mature.The Gilbert ensembles have additional performances on their concert calendar this year, first featuring a joint concert with Farmington Valley Band on Thursday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Gilbert School auditorium.The bands will perform their Spring Concert Tuesday, May 10, 7:30 p.m., also in the school auditorium. “We’ll perform a couple of the same pieces that we performed in Annapolis and some new ones that we’re working on,” Minnerly said.For more information about the Gilbert bands, call the school at 860-379-8521.