University High School’s Instrumental Music Program held its annual Spring Band Concert on May 20, 2026. Held in the UHS Theater, the show highlighted senior performers, as it was their last performance before graduating, and encapsulated their artistic work and growth over the school year. Overall, the concert was an incredible showcase of the efforts and talent of UHS students.
The night was a way for students to showcase their hard work and improvement over the past few months while celebrating the friendships built within the ensemble. The concert started off with the concert band — under the direction of Ms. Diane Lee — who performed more cinematic and theatrical pieces.
“My favorite memory was my last concert with the saxophone section,” junior Shaya Khalili said. “We all pushed through playing a hard passage in concert and had a successful and memorable run.”
Following the concert band’s performance, the concert continued with the symphonic band, which focused heavily on wind instruments. Each ensemble performed a variety of difficult pieces that required students to overcome challenges and improve as musicians.
“I felt challenged by playing in the higher register and achieving better tone,” freshman Annie Zhang said. ¨I was able to overcome this as my teacher taught us exercises to improve, and because I invested more time into practicing at home.¨
Next, the wind ensemble took to the stage, performing some of the most memorable pieces of the show. They begin with “A Jubilant Overture,” composed by Alfred Reed, which was nothing short of exhilarating. The ensemble closed out their portion with the score from the popular ballet “The Firebird,” which had a mischievous yet dreamy atmosphere that slowed down towards the end. The students credit most of their success with these difficult pieces to their directors and mentors.
“My directors have encouraged me to grow this concert cycle by helping me prepare for this difficult repertoire for our concert while also balancing the stress of AP exams,” junior Selin Haytoglu said. “They found a good balance between being understanding but also keeping a high standard for the ensemble, allowing me to push myself and keep practicing at a high level.”
The finale section began with a heartfelt speech by Ms. Christine Maneewongwathana, in which she expressed her gratitude to the graduating seniors, who were the first class she taught throughout their high school careers. The final songs performed were all finales, encapsulating the seniors’ final performances in the UHS music program.
“We spent a class period learning about the history behind the piece, which opened my eyes to how each individual part in the piece plays a role in sending a message to the audience,” Haytoglu said.
The concert ended on a strong note with Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34 composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The piece was introduced by junior Nicholas Higuchi, who perfectly set the scene. As an encore, the remaining ensembles on stage — minus the seniors — performed “Pomp and Circumstance” to end the night. Better known as the classic graduation song, the piece was meant to properly send off the seniors to their next endeavors. Overall, the night was filled with heartfelt goodbyes and beautiful performances.
