Pittsburg High School - Pirate Yearbook (Pittsburg, CA)

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Concentrating intently, Stephanie Comptonland Yanira Ramirez march Smiling proudly, Anna Darling- down the street during the Christmas Pimentel, leads the band into its Parade. pre-game position. Drum Major Sherri Leone, salutes the crowd before beginning the half time show. Marching Show Band - ll

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Shonte Hayes watches hopefully to see Danny Kittleson sings Lil' Darlin at how far Pitt's opening kick-off goes. the PittfAnti0Ch Game, Spirits rise as the air is filled with . . . The Sound of Music As the 75 uniformed black, white, and orange clad musi- cians took the field, armed only with their instruments and amazing spirit, they thirll- ed the crowd with such songs as Musical Instruments, Lil' Darlin, and Big Spender. Not only did the band receive 100 new uniforms from the school district, it also obtained a new drum major, Sherri Leone, and co- teacher, Mr. Oldham. They also bought, with the help of the band boosters, two suzaphones, two silver bell front baritones, and two bell instruments. 'flt was a very good year, we got to experiment a lot with new ideas, stated the band's director, Mr. Orrin Cross Ill. A few of the ideas the band experimented with was the first ever Walnut Parade that took place at night. With the help of the band boosters they created a lightshow with smoke and a set, which the band came crashing through to make their performance rate the King Walnut Award for the Best all around perfor- mances. The band also. entered the Antioch Band Review and took home the third place trophy. Besides these appearances, the band also performed in the Annual Christmas Parade and the Sacramento Field Competition. Close-up the band's new uniforms looked pretty much the same as the old ones, but . .. from the stands the crowd can really see the 'flash effect,' said Mr. Cross. The 'flash effect' being from the brillant white material on the front of the uniform and the flourescent orange material on the back. Mr. Oldham, this year's new choral teacher, con- tributed tothe band by being the assistant teacher. This in- volved him in directing the music, writing, field shows, administrating discipline, conducting sectionals, and basically everything else but taking roll. With a band you get a dif- ferent power than with chorus. It's easier to get them to play louder or softer than it is to make a chorus sing louder or softer, Mr. Oldham commented. - Merideth Fike K Sheila Davies smiles widely after we score a touchdown. 1 1 The Sound oflvlusic

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New teacher creates enthusiasm as new faces . . . Dominate the Music Scene When Mr. Granville Oldham entered the PHS chorale department, not many males were interested in the choir. But since then the male population has more than doubled. Besides the male popula- tion in the class, the female population has also more than doubled. I think the community has shied away from the arts because of the type of emcployment it offers, Mr. Ol ham stated. Oldham ho es that 'word of mouth' will continue to help the growth of the music an fine arts departments. joshua McGrue hesitates before beginning his solo. Ryan Brinkman practices putting his heart and soul into the music. - The curriculum had also changed. The singers were required to learn, pronounce, and eventually sing in other lan uages like Latin, French, ant? German. The focus was on music reading readiness, such as: locating place in music, visually identifying the direction of the notes, and identif ing the beat and tem- po of the piece. u In jazz band, the 19 musi- cians learned to improvise fsolol, ad-lib, sight read, and how to play a jazz piece with feeling. jazz Band director Mr. Orrin Crosslll. Since many of the 19 enrolled were new to jazz music, Cross spent a lot of time in the begminning teaching students ow to play a jazz tune. We would have moved faster if they heard it more often, stated Mr. Cross. The band participated in many concerts including the LMC jazz Festival, the Winter Concert, Band Follies, the Spring Concert, and the Graduation Ceremonies. With jazz music you have - Merideth Fike to play it like it feels, not always how it's written, said I 1 4 L Dominate the Music Scene