About the Central District Band Festival
The Central District Band Festival started with George Yamamoto (Superintendent), Jim Uyeda (Band Director), Kobayashi, Mrs. ProGroves (Curriculum Specialist), Hajime Kuwada (oldest Band Director at the time) 1976 or 1977. The District provided all the money and support needed to get the Festival started. Mrs. ProGroves was in direct communication with the District Superintendent. Pearl was the liaison to the Band Directors. Whatever the Band Directors requested was handed on a “silver platter.” It was Hajime Kuwada’s brother who was the District Superintendent helped get the Band Directors started.
All the Principal at the Festival because the District Superintendent persuaded them to come out and support the Festival. When Pearl left, the liaison was Jane Okamoto and Funi Nguyen. At every meeting the Curriculum Specialist sat in to take notes taking directly to the DS. Gifted & Talented Band was formed with Hajime Kuwada and Derrick Yamane. They selected top and promising players from all of the Intermediate schools within the Central District to form the band. Derrek travelled school to school and gave those students private instruction then together as a group. One music resource person gave clinic to the Directors at each meeting. It “livened up” the meetings. The Central District Band Festival had a hard time starting because one band refused to take part in the Festival. The Band Directors ask the District for help and were able to get all bands to participate. An Exchange program with Maui was started. Directors selected two students to represent Oahu to play in the Maui Select Band. Maui would send two students to represent Maui in the Oahu Honor Band. The parents funded the students. Credit goes to the Maui Festival because the Central District Band Festival is modeled after their festival. The first Parade of Bands, North & South was held on the same night. The following year it changed to different nights. A big discussion on how the Central District was going to run - Festival or Contest. The Directors decided to keep it on a level where they were all EQUAL instead of competing each other. More of playing together and enjoy the music of each school and learning from each other. Meetings were run business like and socialized after. The Superintendent bought into the idea of the Festival because the intent was to involve every island. If every island got clinicians and share the clinician, a big Festival on each Island each year where. State Foundation. All Islands received money. On Oahu the districts was Leeward, Honolulu, Windward. Directors could learn from these potential four clinicians per year. The District Office used to give money to the schools for this Festival. Now schools allocate money to the Central District to run the Festival. Source: Hajime Kuwada, CDBF Co-Founder |
Philosophy of the Central District Band Festival
The purpose of the festival are:
The goals of the festival are:
- To give the band programs in the Central District an opportunity to demonstrate to the community student achievement through authentic performance and standard based assessment.
- To bring into closer relations the band directors in the district so that they can exchange musical and educational ideas. This relationship will help to assist in the overall betterment of the band programs in the district.
- To provide an unbiased and professional evaluation of each band. Thereby giving the directors and students tangible evidence on their programs achievements as it relates to the HCPS III.
- To learn new techniques and concepts from the clinicians, which will in turn help improve the quality of music education in the schools.
The goals of the festival are:
- To bring music to the community we serve.
- To allow the bandsmen opportunities to share musical experiences.
- To provide for the exchange of musical ideas amongst the band directors in the district. This cooperation will assist in the betterment of the band programs within the district.
- To provide visible evidence of the instrumental music programs in the communities.
- To provide bandsmen and and masters with new techniques and greater musical input through the expertise provide by the clinicians.
© 2023-24 Central District Band Festival
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