Nashoba, like many other high schools, tends to focus more on sports than other extracurricular activities. However, band is another exciting activity that does not receive enough attention. Sporting events are an important part in the high school experience, but, as exhilarating and entertaining as a basketball game may be, Nashoba has talent that goes beyond the court.

On Tuesday, April 1st, Mr. O’Toole lead the Concert Band, Intermediate Jazz Band, and Advanced Jazz Band onto an exceptional presentation of that talent. Concert Band meets every day during school, while Intermediate and Advanced Jazz Band meet every other day, and on Thursday nights. The program consisted of three songs from the Intermediate and Advanced Jazz Band, a short intermission, and the Concert Band’s five songs, three of which they are taking to the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association (MICCA) competition on Friday, April 3rd.

The Intermediate Jazz Band brought tons of energy to the stage with their three, upbeat songs. The first song they performed was for the introduction of Adam Frey, a guest euphonium soloist who travels around the world showcasing his talent, but apparently, Frey was still “eating dinner” and was going to arrive late. Colin, O’Toole’s son, delivered this news onstage. When O’Toole questioned who was going to play his solo, Colin picked up a trumpet and suggested he play it instead. O’Toole didn’t see a problem with it and told him to play away. The young trumpet player began to play Frey’s euphonium with the band on trumpet. In the middle of it, Frey ran on stage to ask what was going on and apologized for “being late.” Colin and Frey played the solo as a duet instead. The humor of Mr. O’Toole and his son made a perfect and unexpected beginning to an amazing program. The song included improv from over six musicians, including Juniors Issac Luke, Mike Sanzio, and Zach Weber. The other two songs were upbeat and entertaining, but nothing could have outshone the wittiness of the first song.

The Advanced Jazz Ensemble brought less energy than the Intermediate Jazz Band, but their songs displayed a more “jazzy” quality.Their songs included many solos, including Seniors Graham Atkinson and Noah Wisch, and Juniors John Super and Sam Griffin. Super’s trumpet solo and Griffin’s guitar solo made a large impression with the crowd.

The Concert Band had the most energy and intensity. Their five different songs brought a tremendous ending to the program. Adam Frey and freshman, Evan Daisy, played a duet together, in a dreamy, gentle moving song. Daisy played the oboe, and it brought a different element to the stage.

Junior John Atkinson explained a bit about his preparation for the concert. “Basically, I tried to run the solo a lot,” Atkinson stated. “I worked on my articulations, my sound, and my tone quality.” Surprisingly, he wasn’t nervous for his smaller solo in Jazz Band, or his large solo in Concert Band.

Frey spontaneously played his own rendition of the famous song “Blackbird” by the Beatles. He actually played the song in two parts, one using the euphonium, and the other using his voice. The song covered many genres of music, and Frey did it by himself. When he finished, the band gave him a standing ovation. He bowed, and the band played their last song.

 O’Toole will conduct the bands again on May 9th, at 7 p.m. in the Nashoba Auditorium. It will be hard to top this energetic concert.