Photo courtesy of Shelby County Band Directors Association
The Shelby County Band Directors Association will host its annual All-County Band Festival on Feb. 5-6 at Chelsea High School, bringing together standout middle and high school musicians from across the county for focused rehearsals, instruction and a culminating public performance.
Students were selected through auditions held Jan. 13 at Calera Middle School, with those chosen forming the Middle School Honor Band and High School Honor Band. The festival will conclude with a concert at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 6 in the Chelsea High School Auditorium.
This year’s event will feature the premiere of “The Whistle Stop,” a new composition written specifically for the association by internationally recognized composer Rossano Galante. The piece draws inspiration from the 1939 jazz standard “Tuxedo Junction,” which references a historic streetcar stop once located in Ensley. Following the premiere, the work will be dedicated to the Shelby County Band Directors Association and released for global purchase.
Galante will attend the festival as composer-in-residence, working directly with the High School Honor Band during rehearsals. He will also collaborate with the Middle School Honor Band on another of his compositions, which will be included in the concert program.
Galante is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s film scoring program, where he studied under composer Jerry Goldsmith. His career includes orchestration work on more than 75 major films, including “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “A Quiet Place” Parts I and II, “The Mummy,” “Logan” and “Fantastic Four.” His concert band compositions, such as “The Cry of the Last Unicorn” and “Resplendent Glory,” are frequently performed by ensembles worldwide.
Conducting duties for the festival will be led by two veteran Alabama music educators. Deana Rizzo, who spent 30 years at Chelsea Middle School before retiring, will conduct the Middle School Honor Band. Jon Bubbett, who recently retired from Thompson High School after more than 40 years in education, will lead the High School Honor Band.
The All-County Band Festival provides selected students with an opportunity to perform advanced repertoire, collaborate with peers from across Shelby County and learn directly from experienced educators and professional composers.
