On April 18 through the 20th, DeMatha students in the music department traveled to Virginia Beach for their annual music competition. Reagan Hirabayshi, a junior who plays the clarinet, expressed how he felt about the trip overall.

“I thought the competition was alright. The [other] band programs were not very large or very good. Wind ensemble played well.” He stated that his favorite part was between Busch Gardens and the beach. “Playing soccer on the beach was fun and the roller coasters were great.”

Though he had a lot of fun, Reagan thought some aspects of the trip could have been improved, particularly the amount of time students spent in certain areas. “I thought staying at the auditorium for the whole day was uncomfortable and unnecessary. We also spent a lot of time at Busch Gardens, which was tiring.”

Senior Daren Pefok, who plays the bass clarinet sounded off on how well the competition went. “I felt good and confident after our performance,” Daren said. “Something we could’ve done better is control our tempo.” As it was for Reagan, beach soccer was a favorite memory for Daren.

As a senior returning from his last music trip at DeMatha, Daren says the thing he’ll miss the most is going to new places with the music department. A piece of advice he gives to other bandmates is “to practice your music, make sure you’re up to date with everything, and work on time management to make sure you can incorporate music with your daily life.”

The last four DeMatha band concerts for the school year will take place on April 30, May 2, May 6, and May 7, and the Spring Sing for the chorus program is scheduled for May 6.