Written by Ted Goslin
In its 9th year of existence, the West Side Pan Festival again showcased the talents of Cabrillo High School and Stephens Middle School steel bands, while adding the talents of guest artists, Chris Wabich and Joseph Peck to the mix. The addition of guest artists was new to the event, thanks to a small grant from the Long Beach Arts Council, which paid for the performers.
“The school district and the arts council work together so that any teacher can submit for a grant who works in the district,” said Drew Holt, director of the Cabrillo High Steel Band and organizer of the event. “We actually played for one of their events last fall and they remembered us and how good a job we did when we performed. We got $680.”
Taking place at the Cabrillo High Auditorium on the Long Beach, Calif., campus, the two groups performed a wide mix of musical genres, from the Classical piece, “Air on the G String,” by Johann Sebastian Bach, to the Panorama classic “Pan Woman” by Ray Holman, in its entirety.
The two bands performed both separately and together throughout the course of the concert, featuring solos by the two guest artists throughout. Having Wabich as one of the artists is especially significant given his history of having built many of the drums used by both bands and having started the first high school steel band in Long Beach back in the early 1990s.
While the talent in both bands was apparent to all those who attended (around 100 people sat in the audience), Holt gives credit to the structure in place of having a feeder group at the middle school level to prep beginning players for more difficult music at the high school level.
“It helps that they started in middle school. Some of them have been playing for six years,” said Holt regarding the ability for the group to perform material usually played by professionals. “We have five hours of class a week and one four hour rehearsal on Saturday mornings, once a month.”
