The booming sound of cannons will echo through the hallways from the field house on Tuesday, April 12 when band members from throughout the district celebrate their biennial district band festival.

The festival is a mass concert that gathers band members from fifth grade to the high school bands to play songs together like “Ode To Joy” or individual songs as ensembles like “1812 Overture,” Nathan Holbrook, sophomore, said.

“The mass group songs we got this last week and they are designed to be able to be played by fifth graders as well, so they’re not terribly difficult for us high schoolers,” Holbrook said.

The festival allows the high school bands to play with the younger bands and see even how the sixth graders are doing, which is sophomore band member, Adam Alexakis-Harkin’s, favorite part.

Along with working with the younger members, students can interact with guest conductors, like Doctor Elizabeth Peterson from University of Illinois.

“I think working with the guest conductors is what I’m looking forward to because guest conductors are always fun. [Dr. Peterson] actually use to be the band director at Lake Zurich when Mr. Thompson came to do student teaching,” Holbrook said. “We also went down to U of I in February and did an exchange concert with the band ensemble that she conducts so we already interacted with her and she’s a really good conductor. I think she can do a really good job at making us all together sound as great as we can.”

While one of the purposes of the festival is to allow the band to showcase their skills and demonstrate what they can do, there is another purpose as well, Alexakis-Harkin said.

“I think a big part of [the festival] is trying to encourage people who don’t know if they want to continue. Band is really fun and as you move along the years you get a lot better,” Holbrook said. “My first district band festival was when I was in sixth grade and so I was a part of the middle school band, but still it was a huge difference. I remember thinking, ‘Wow that sounds so cool.’ It had such a magnitude and greatness about it that made me want to do band later.”