Brass gleaming in the spotlight, a foot drumming against the hardwood floor, and the sound of instruments reverberating through the Blackbox Theater characterized the Chamber Winds Concert on May 3.

The event featured a variety of woodwind and percussion instruments, with students from each sector coming together and blending different sounds to create unified, cohesive melodies. The song selection displayed great variety, with some ensembles being slow, daunting melodies and others featuring fast, upbeat tempos such as “Killer Tango” by Sonny Kompinek.

“This was one of my favorite concerts of the year because it’s relatively small and has a relaxed atmosphere,” band junior Ben Sullivan said. “There’s a lot of parents in the audience, and it’s really an opportunity to have fun and experiment with different pieces.”

As the lights dimmed and the audience fell silent, Mr. Drew Tucker and band junior Grant Conley began to play the solo “Carousel” on the marimba and vibraphone. Conley and Tucker were once teacher and student, and they now perform musical duets together at concert halls throughout the state.

“I grew up with [Tucker],” said Conley. “He’s been my mentor for a long time, and he’s taught me almost everything I know about music. It’s been a pleasure to share this great opportunity with him.”

Band director Evan Rogovin and artist in residence Michael Porte organized the event, with solo auditions and extensive rehearsals taking place weeks before the concert.

“The chamber classes are very independent,” Leavitt said. “We’re good about practicing both in class and on our own time, but [Rogovin and Porte] keep us on track and help us stay focused. For the past few weeks, we’ve had weekly in-class performances where we play our pieces for him and he gives us constructive advice on how we can improve.”

Furthermore, the ensemble “Adagio et Allegretto,” performed by the woodwind choir and conducted by Porte, sought to imitate melodies reminiscent of 19th century French classical music. However, the musicians had to adapt the notes of the song to fit a particular set of woodwind instruments.

“It was a challenging piece to perform,” said Leavitt. “But it forced the musicians to adapt and be creative–which ultimately helped us grow as artists and as musicians. [‘Adagio et Allegretto’] ended up being one of my favorite songs.”

The show dramatically changed pace with the performance “Video Game Symphony”, which was suggested, developed, and performed by band junior Sam Finger. The piece was a conglomeration of iconic video game theme songs, such as “Tetris,” “Super Mario Bros,” and “World of Warcraft.”

“It’s no secret that we do a lot of classical music,” band junior Ben Sullivan said. “It’s nice to give the audience something fresh and different. The ensemble was almost entirely student-run, and I heard [Finger] practicing for a long time to perfect the notes.”

At the end of the concert, the band members came together to perform a final song “Alleluia.” The ensemble was an experiment inspired by the Renaissance, in which musicians are placed in strategic locations and play at certain times to compliment each other’s harmonies.

“In the 1500s, with the rise of Renaissance architecture, composers started playing with phonetics and putting groups of musicians in certain places to create a beautiful sound that echoed off the walls of the grand churches,” Rogovin said. “That’s what we’re trying to recreate here today, with musicians positioned in three different locations and playing at certain times to craft a dynamic performance.”