Declan O’Leary reading his poem
Dawn A. Walker
SaddleBrooke Winds and Strings (SBWS) sponsored a poetry contest and received submissions from all over the Greater Tucson area. Our SBWS music director’s wife Annalisia teaches 5th grade, and she asked if she could have her classroom participate in the poetry contest. The poetry contest was open to all ages, so, of course, they could. SBWS recruited judges from all over this area, including poets and English teachers from local high schools (a varied panel of judges), and Ms. Jacquez’s 5th graders ended up placing in the top 5!
The poems went with the concert theme, “The Land,” and five student poems were recited (three by the student poets) interspersed throughout the music program. The students’ poetry was amazing, and the audience response was as enthusiastic, as was their response to the great music the band performed.
As usual, Music Director Jesus Jacquez provided stunning visual effects to go with the program. Mr. Jacquez really knows how to entertain!
SBWS’s next concert is May 18 at 2 p.m. The free concert will be held at Vista de la Montana Methodist Church in Catalina. Donations are appreciated and will go towards Vista de la Montana’s audio visual booth. On the program are selections from The Music Man, “Semper Fidelis,” “Harlem Nocturne,” and more.
Save the date for Halloween. SBWS’s next concert at DesertView Performing Arts Center will be “Halloween Spooktacular” on Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. Music planned for this event includes “Night on Bald Mountain,” “Hall of the Mountain King,” “Music for a Darkened Theatre,” “The Skeleton Crawl,” “The Cave You Fear,” and much more.