MHS band one to remember

By CLAUDINE SAN NICOLAS, Staff Writer

HONOLULU – The Maui High School Saber Marching Band and Color Guard fulfilled its goal to make its 2007 season memorable by capturing top honors in its division in a prestigious contest held Saturday on Oahu.

"I really believe the students will always remember this," Band Director Kerry Wasano said Sunday morning following a night of tears and cheers. "It certainly was memorable."

Maui High School was the only Neighbor Island competitor at the Kamehameha Schools Tournament of Bands held on the Kapalama

campus. The 94-student band picked up the most trophies in its Double A Division that included bands from Leilehua, Roosevelt and Kalani high schools.

The competition featured 16 high school marching bands in three divisions divided by band size. One division was for small bands with as many as 30 musicians. Another was for mid-sized bands with as many as 100 members, and the third division was for large bands with as many as 220 players.

Aside from seizing first place in the Double A Division, the Maui High band members earned other awards, including: first place for percussion, first place for color guard, first place for marching and maneuvering, third place for music performance, second place for a soloist performance (senior trumpet player Chris Ponce) and first place for drum majors (senior Zoey Ann Martinez and junior Marvin Rumbaua).

The band also received an overall "excellent" festival rating.

The band won its awards by performing an 8?-minute show featuring three songs: "Call of the Mountain" composed by Joseph Curiale; the theme song from the movie "Far and Away" starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, composed by John Williams; and "Chorale and Shaker Dance" by John Zdechlik.

Saturday night’s competition opened under clear skies, with Maui High appearing 10th in a lineup of 16. By the time bands 15 and 16 performed, rain fell and turned into a steady and heavy downpour as the awards ceremony rolled around.

Wasano directed all but two drum majors – Martinez and Rumbaua – into a holding area where they were sheltered from the rain, but they could not see or hear the awards ceremony. Reports about awards were relayed through cellular phone from one staff member on the field to another with the group.

"For me, I’m just so sad that the kids were not there live," Wasano said, referring to the overall first-place award.

In retrospect, Wasano said, he wished had kept the students on the field so that they could hear the news of their winnings firsthand.

On Sunday, at least one student didn’t seem to have any hard feelings about the way she heard about the band’s success.

"There were tears. There were screams. There was laughter," senior Chaclyn Barut said in describing what happened when the majority of the band received the good news.

"You never want to expect you’re going to win first place. . . . When you do, it’s great," she said.

Barut, who’s been playing the piccolo since her freshmen year, said winning first place was sweet.

"We were all hugging each other and crying," she said. "We saw that with all the hard work, the end result was definitely worth it."

Martinez said she was proud of the band’s accomplishment.

"It’s a very close group of people. We work very hard, and we have fun doing it," she said.

On a personal level, Martinez said, the experience boosted her self-confidence.

"I learned that if I feel doubt in myself, I shouldn’t," she said.

Both Martinez and Barut credited Wasano for believing in them and the band.

"Mr. Wasano cares for his students," Barut said. "He knows we believe in ourselves, and he just wants us to perform in that way – to believe in ourselves and be confident in ourselves."

Martinez said she also finds Wasano inspiring.

"He pushes us because he knows how we can do," she said.

Martinez said the band was also inspired by the large group of family and friends, estimated at about 50, who traveled from Maui to support them: "I guess everybody in the band put all they had into that last performance, and that’s a lot because of our supporters. We really thank them for their support."

Wasano said a judge noted that the Maui High group had one of the loudest cheering sections during the competition.

"It’s probably the most the important thing to have. Parent support, just their assistance is crucial," he said. "Emotionally having them in the stands and the security the students feel with their parents in the audience is key."

Wasano has served as Maui High’s band director for 10 years. His students have picked up three separate second-place trophies in other similar state contests.

"It was our first first place," Wasano said. "It’s so hard to describe, but it was so amazing to see. It was just so awesome."

Band members have been dedicating at least 10 hours a week since mid-September to practice after school. Prior to that, the students averaged six hours a week of rehearsal, not counting weekend camps and any holidays or days off from classes when they would also come in for more practice.

At least two band members had to overcome sprained ankles suffered during practice, and one other student experienced a fainting spell while drilling in the hot sun.

"They gave a lot of hard work – blood, sweat and tears – to this," Wasano said.

He said the band’s primary gauge for success involved sacrifice and work ethic, not the number of trophies they would bring home.

Still, first place was sweet.

"It’s a nice cherry on the sundae," Wasano said.

Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine@mauinews .com.