Lakeside High School’s Band Gives Two Free Concerts May 17 & 18

Photo by Lynn Kessler

Lakeside High School’s award-winning band will present two year-end concerts in the school’s Fine Arts Auditorium May 17 and May 18. Both concerts will begin at 7 p.m. and are free to the public. The students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, will play a mix of classic pieces and pop tunes, under the musical direction of David Fairchild. Younger students will perform May 17, while the more experienced musicians will take the stage May 18. The musical selections will differ, so the public is invited to attend and enjoy both performances. Lakeside High School is located at 3801 Briarcliff Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30345. www.lakesidevikingband.com

Along with the Lakeside Symphonic I band students, the Friday, May 18 concert will include performances by student musicians from Henderson Middle School as well as from the “Lakeside Cluster” elementary schools: Sagamore Hills, Oak Grove, Briarlake, Henderson Mill, Evansdale, Pleasantdale and Hawthorne. This is the second year the younger students have joined their older counterpoints onstage at Lakeside.

“All of us who teach music within the Lakeside Cluster work together to instill an appreciation for music at a young age that we hope will last a lifetime,” said Fairchild, who himself grew up in the area and graduated from Lakeside High School. “By bringing the elementary, middle and high school students together for one gala performance, we hope to inspire the younger ones to continue to enjoy music through high school and beyond, while reminding our older students of how much they have learned and improved over the years. Last year’s combined concert was a tremendous success and a lot of fun for the performers and the audience. I encourage the public to come to this free concert and support all of these young musicians who have worked so hard.”

The band program is concluding its 52nd year in DeKalb County. Throughout each school year, the students perform during halftime at Lakeside’s football games and offer a number of public concerts. They also perform in local parades and festivals, including DragonCon and the Inman Park Festival. Often, they are the only high school band invited to perform at these events. Earlier this year, band students traveled to Orlando, Fl. to play a cinematic soundtrack on a movie stage along with the film, and enjoyed a few days of exploring the various Disney and Universal Studios theme parks.