This year, Cal High wind and jazz ensemble teacher Kent Johnson is proud to announce that eight of his students will perform with the Contra Costa Honor Band on Saturday.

“The Contra Costa Honor Band is a group of  the top performing band students in the Contra Costa County,” Johnson said.

The students had to  audition in December and, once they qualified, attend three rehearsals to prepare for Saturday’s concert at Campolindo High School in Moraga.

The eight students who are in the Contra Costa Honor Band are seniors Katelyn Hefter (trumpet), Henry Sun (clarinet) and James Taniguchi (trumpet); juniors Danielle Anderson (bass clarinet) and Kristen Gao (flute); sophomores Karina Hazari (clarinet) and Holly Mentink (euphonium); and freshman Kurt Krempel (trumpet).

Before each student was accepted into the county honor band, they participated in a particularly nerve-wracking audition process.

Each musician presented three to five scales  and a prepared piece with their preferred instrument.

Afterwards, they were handed a sheet of music that was completely foreign to them.  They were expected to briefly study, memorize, and play it without being able to reference the sheet.

“I walked in the warm up room and there were so many musicians in there,” said Anderson.  “They were all practicing and they sounded so good. It’s not even funny how talented they were. It was definitely intimidating.”

Earning a spot on the county honor band is of course not possible without countless hours of hard work in and out of school for the musicians.

While some practice for an hour a week, and others for an hour a day, it is clear that each and every one of these musicians has passion for what they do.

After being accepted into the band, students attended their first rehearsal where they were surrounded by other talented peers.

“The music is complicated,” Krempel said. “It requires a lot of practice and attention. But overall, everyone in the band is a very good musician, and as a whole, we sound great.”

Although challenging, students say the experience of being in the honor band is  worth all the effort

As for the Cal High Band, students seem to really appreciate Johnson, their teacher and mentor.

Johnson, who has been advising over wind and jazz ensemble for more than 13 years, has really improved the band program at Cal throughout his time working here.

“I enjoy the musicality that my students produce,” Johnson said.  “The talent level is so high making it easy to teach.  It’s an enjoyment to me to listen to the music they produce and hear them improve day by day.”

According to the students who qualified for the county honor band, what makes Mr. Johnson such a great teacher is his ability to recognize how important the individual is in a group.

If the individual does not work hard, a group can never improve.

“[Johnson] is always willing to support us whenever help is needed and challenges his students with high expectations to show that we are capable of achieving excellence in what we love doing,” said Taniguchi.

Students also love his sense of humor and ability to make difficult songs seem appealing and fun to play.

Overall, they feel like Johnson has helped them improve and achieve the accomplishments they never thought possible.

“Band is fantastic,” Mentink said. “We work hard and are challenged by the music, but we still have lots of fun.”