The Massanutten Youth Brass Band is a hit

The Massanutten Youth Brass Band (MYBB) performed its first concert of the year on Sunday, Dec. 16, at Grace Covenant Church. The band is modeled after the Massanutten Brass Band, an ensemble now in its tenth year. The youth band, in its third year, includes high school and college brass as well as percussion players of all skill levels in the area. The Massanutten Youth Brass Band is directed by Rhonda Stees. Several students from HHS perform in the MYBB including Ben DiNapoli, Mariah Flick, Ava Reynolds, Hollyn Slykhuis, Valerio Aleman, Ellie Plass, Abe Nouri, Trevor Cockburn, Miranda Wilson, Dylan Bontrager and Jon Ross.

“I love playing with the Massanutten Youth Brass Band. The literature is fantastic and everyone is exceptionally ‘band-nerdy’…. in a good way,” junior Abe Nouri said.

Sunday night’s concert was a fundraiser for the Salvation Army and included a joint performance with the Massanutten Brass Band including HHS Associate Director of Bands and Choirs, Ian Richard, on the tuba. The MYBB played arrangements of Fanfare Jubiloso by James Curnow, Huron Carol by Kevin Norbury, A Christmas Overture by Gavin Whitehouse, Veni Immanuel arr. by Philip Sparke, Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano and arranged by Dorothy Gates, and finally, The Spirit of Christmas by Peter Graham.

“I thought that the concert was really good, and I thought there was a good size crowd. I thought my performance was really good and it was really satisfying to be able to keep up with these college kids,” senior Trevor Cockburn said.

“I had a good time performing. It’s nice to play in a different setting than in school,” freshman Ava Reynolds said.

The next performance of the Massanutten Youth Brass Band is on Saturday, March 23, with the JMU Brass Band.