On May 12, 2026, South Brunswick High School hosted their annual spring band concert. The event took place in the school’s auditorium and started at 6:30 p.m., ending at around 9:00 p.m. The two Concert Bands, the Honors Symphonic Winds, and the Wind Ensemble performed in the concert.
The 3B Concert Band, under the direction of Mr. Joshua Oldham, one of the band directors at SBHS, began the concert, playing four songs: Prairie Songs by Pierre LaPlante, Scarborough Fantasy by Christian Huss and R. Alan Carter, Dance the Joy Alive by Nicole Piunno, and Bandology by Eric Osterling.
Their first song began as a relatively slow song, setting a relaxed, laid back mood. Then, the tempo increased and the song became faster and more anticipating. It sets a really prideful tone with its anticipation and volume. At the end of that song, Mr. Oldham talks about how all these songs have a theme, either it’s a song and tells a story, or it’s a dance and makes you want to move.
The second song was slower, almost like a ballad. It had the same energy as the first one, just with a slower tempo and longer notes.
The third song began as a trumpet fanfare and the melody passed instrument to instrument. This song was a lot more moving than the previous one, almost matching the anticipation as the first song. The notes were a lot faster than the first piece and although it wasn’t as intense as the first song, it still felt catchy in some familiar way. At the end of the song, Dhruv Chandawarkar (’29) stood up to be acknowledged for the solo he had in the middle of the piece. Mr. Oldham, after the song, talks about how this song relates to joy and how joy can be found through dancing the joy alive (as implied in the title).
Their last song had the same idea as the first song in terms of tune and intensity. It was a fast-paced song, also catchy like the third one, a good way to end their portion.
After the 3B Concert Band was the 4B Concert Band, under the direction of Mr. TJ Brungard, another band director at SBHS. There are two concert bands because one block wouldn’t be enough to fit everyone. Both bands receive regular weighting and they have the same level of talent, so there isn’t that much of a difference between the two bands.
For their portion, the 4B Concert Band played Beyond the Horizon by Ted Rickets, Deep Blue by Kevin Day, Roaring Run by Robert Traugh, and The Wellerman Come by Travis Weller.
The first song started off slow, then transitioned into a faster tempo. Later, there was an alto saxophone solo by Saharsh Yellenki (’29). The slightly slower tempo continued for a few measures before transitioning into a slightly faster tempo. Towards the end, there were a series of solos with me on flute, Aashrith Manchikatla (’29) on clarinet, Ayyan Zeeshan (’27) on french horn, and Raghav Kadlaskar (’29) on trumpet. The song slowed down towards the end and once the song was over, all the soloists stood up.
The second song was a ballad, meant to match the calmness of the ocean. It began with a solo by me while the clarinets played underneath, before the melody expanded to the rest of the band. This song was a lot slower, less intense than the first one. Towards the end of the song, the band played chords, representing the calm waves of the ocean. A few measures before the end, however, the chords led into this one note solo by me. The ending built from my solo as the rest of the band slowly entered, ending the song with a warm, rich sound. At the end of the song, I stood up to be acknowledged for my solo.
The third song was a fast-paced song. It had a similar idea to some of the fast-paced songs that the 3B Concert Band played. This song was filled with complex and contradicting rhythms, which made it difficult to put together in rehearsal. After the concert, Mr. Oldham even joked that this was the one time everyone in the band got the rhythms right. However, the band ended the song strongly.
Their last song was a rearrangement of the song “Soon May the Wellerman Come” which is a New Zealand sea shanty about pirates chasing a whale. It was fast-paced, intense, and a great way to end. In the beginning there was a trombone solo by Aarya Sivakumar (’29) and another four measure trumpet solo by Raghav, and later I had a solo on the flute. The only thing that stood out in this song is that it contained singing for ten measures when the music became more haunting, with another flute solo in the middle. The song ended with a strong finish and everyone stood up, signalling the end of their performance.
After them was the Honors Symphonic Winds, also under the direction of Mr. Oldham. This band was more advanced than the concert bands, receiving honors weighting. The songs they played were Joy Revisited by Frank Ticheli, English Folk Song Suite (a three piece movement) by Ralph Vaughn Williams, Sòlas Ané by Samuel Hazo, and Celestial Bodies by Harrison J. Collins.
Their first song is an upbeat, fast-paced song. It’s very catchy and very dance-like. Towards the middle, when the piece got slower, there were a series of solos from Abhiram Duvvuri (’29) on flute, Anirudh Ashok (’29) on clarinet, Toorjo Bhattacharya (’28) on alto saxophone, and Sashwath Sabarivasen (’29) on euphonium, almost the same idea as the end of Beyond the Horizon played by the 4B concert band when me, Aashrith, Ayyan, and Raghav had a series of solos, one leading from the other.
The second thing they played was a movement, which is a series of songs of a larger musical composition. Think almost like acts in a play or chapters in a book. There’s normally a small pause at the end of each song to signify that song is done and they’re transitioning into the next song, and applause is normally given at the end of the movement. However, since the audience didn’t know that they were supposed to clap after the third song, they clapped whenever there was silence, almost ruining the purpose of the movement. But the clapping didn’t ruin the musicians’ playing. The first song in the movement is a march, fast-paced and catchy. The fast notes and intensity made the song really intriguing and anticipating. Later, when the song got more lyrical, Abhiram had a short solo, and then the music got more intense. The second song was slower, beginning with a solo by Siya Sidhaye (’27) on oboe. Then, the rest of the band came in, keeping that rich tone. Towards the middle, there was a solo by Anirudh on clarinet and then a duet between the piccolo Anna Nettl (’29) and the oboe. Although the song got faster later, it wasn’t as intense as the first one in the movement, still considered to be a ballad. The third song in the movement was a march, similar to the first one. There was a duet in the beginning between Joel Owusu (’29) and Jian-wei Hsu (’29) both on trumpet. Now that the movement was over, all the soloists stood up.
Their third song started off slow, beginning with a piccolo solo from Liyang Bai (’29) with Abhiram on flute and Siya on oboe joining later. This song had the same intensity as the first song, but it was slower in terms of tempo, more prideful than anticipating. Their tone made the piece mesmerizing to listen to as it enhanced the tune and made it memorable.
Before continuing onto their fourth song, Mr. Oldham talked about how this group went out to perform at two festivals and even recognized their principal clarinet player, Anirudh Ashok for auditioning and being selected for the CJMEA Region Honors Band. Then, after mentioning a few logistics about next year’s Disney trip, the band played their final piece.
Their last song began with a solo from Toorjo on the alto saxophone with small entrances of the band. The piece began with the same energy as the one before, slow but prideful. There was also a trumpet solo by Joel a few measures in, mirroring the earlier solo. Soon after, the intensity started to speed up with faster notes and more volume. The piece gave off a lingering, anticipating feeling, almost like suspicion. When the piece quieted down, there was another trumpet solo by Jian-wei, but the quietness didn’t stay for long. The ending of the piece was interesting though. It felt like the song suddenly stopped in the middle of a phrase. Maybe that was done on purpose to leave the audience anticipating for more. Regardless, once the song ended, the soloists first stood up to get recognized. Then, the rest of the band stood up, signalling the end of their portion of the performance.
To close out the concert, the Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Mr. Brungard, took the stage. They also played four songs: Danza No 2 by Bruce Yurko, Ronde for Isolde by David Bedford, Stillwater by Kelijah Dunton, and Syzygy Flow by Katahj Copley.
The first song began with the timpanis, creating a suspenseful, anticipating mood. A few measures later, there was a clarinet solo by Katie Seo (’28), later accompanied by a flute solo by Maanya Kavi (’26). Then, the song started increasing in terms of intensity and speed, still keeping that suspenseful mood. This song was a very percussion heavy piece to maintain that intensity, but what stood out the most was their tone while playing the piece. Fast notes usually trip up tone quality, but these advanced musicians had their tone in control to keep that resonant sound. Once the song ended, Mr. Brungard gave a shout out to the composer of the piece, who is a good friend of the program, and to the percussion section who walked to the front of the stage.
Before moving onto the second song, Mr. Brungard acknowledged the number of people in the band who auditioned and got accepted to the CJMEA Region Band and CJMEA All State Band and all those people stood up. Then, they transitioned into their second song.
This song was less intense than the first song. It wasn’t necessarily a ballad, but it was still soft and less anticipatory. Towards the middle, it started to turn more eerie due to the chords and soft dynamics. After the eeriness, the song turned more ballad-like with slow flute notes and soft, controlled dynamics. Then, with faster notes from the percussion, the intensity started to rise. This piece was interesting with some sections being fast and anticipating and then some sections being slow and either an eerie ballad-likedness or loud and prideful. This song also had a bunch of solos: Maanya Kavi on flute, Jose Checo (’28), Katie Seo, and Aishi Chell (’26) on clarinet, Jivan Singh (’26) on alto saxophone, Spencer Capes (’27) on trombone, and Ryan Santoro (’26) on euphonium.
The third song began slowly with just the clarinets and the flutes joined them a few measures later. This was a slow and loud piece and through the tone quality of the band, it sounded emotional as well. It was also a ballad, but it sounds more like a lullaby with the softness and the direction of the tune. The quietness is meant to give a flowing mood to the song and the loud parts are meant to sound emotional.
Before playing their last song, Mr. Brungard grabbed the microphone and started thanking the people that made this event possible like Mr. Peter Varela, the SBHS principal, Mr. Robert Sears, the music supervisor, and the music administration. He also thanked the custodial staff for setting up the auditorium and the Performing Arts Parents Association for their support for the music department. He acknowledged the seniors for their last ever school band concert. He also pointed out donation baskets outside to donate to their senior scholarship to help with college. Then, after giving a brief explanation of the title of their final piece, Syzygy Flow where Syzygy refers to the alignment of the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun, the band transitioned into their final song.
It started with swift rhythms and a very bouncy feeling. The song felt very groovy and intense due to the band’s tone quality and the fast rhythms. Towards the middle, the intensity started to die down although the song still kept those fast rhythms. The band’s sound projected across the stadium, showing the almost prideful feeling, before switching back to the groovy and intense feeling from earlier. Towards the end, the fast and intense rhythms led to a long note towards the end with the chords creating tension before the band played their final note, also long, but the chord felt like a resolution to the tension. Once the song ended, everyone stood up and the audience roared in applause.
Another year passed and the spring band concert was a success as many people attended to support the performers and the performances reflected the hard work from the band throughout the year.
