Chaparral Wind Ensemble Sole Middle School Selected for Chicago Festival

The Chaparral Middle School Wind Ensemble is the lone middle school band selected to play in this year's 2011 Percy Grainger Wind Band Festival in Chicago, Illinois on March 26, 2011.

In addition to being the only middle school band, Chaparral is just one of four student bands selected for the event.

“I am very excited about this opportunity to represent Diamond Bar in a national event," Band Director Leslie Schroerlucke said. “This marks a milestone of achievement for our band program.”

The Chaparral ensemble is made up of 68 seventh- and eighth-grade students who  attend weekly practice in addition to the students' regular band class.

Schroerlucke will conduct the band in a performance at Chicago’s historic Orchestra Hall, home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The trip will be funded in part by a grant from the school's Chinese American Parent Association and a number of fundraising events.

The band will also attend a clinic with Colonel Arnold Gabriel, Conductor Emeritus of the U.S. Air Force Band.
 
The Percy Grainger Wind Ensemble Festival is organized by Music Celebrations International and is designed to commemorate the music of Grainger – one of the foremost composers of concert band literature during the 20th century.