On May 17, the Strath Haven Jazz Band attended the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival for the third time and played their music in an outdoor venue. The band played ‘Buckjump,’ ‘Come Fly With Me,’ ‘Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars,’ and ‘All of Me.’
“It’s [the Jazz Band] actually one of the newest things,” Jazz Band director Mr. Nick Pignataro said. “So, I’m still trying to figure out what a typical jazz season looks like.”
The question Pignataro gets asked every year by students is, “Can we go in the ocean?”
“As in the past, I’ve said, ‘No ocean.’ This year, I implied, ‘No ocean.’ I said, ‘You have to be dry when it’s time to perform and also research the ocean temperature in May,’” Pignataro said.
A challenge that comes up every year the Jazz Band goes to Rehoboth Beach is time.
“Last year, we missed our performance time because we tried to wait until after fifth block to leave. We have to figure out the busing, but there’s always an extra level of logistics,” Pignataro said.
Another unfortunate aspect of Rehoboth Beach being far away is having to pull students from classes.
“I try not to do that because kids are always leaving classes for field trips and things, and I know what it’s like to not have students in my classes, and you can’t make it up,” Pignataro said.
Although the students are allowed to roam free for most of the evening, Pignataro sets some requirements.
“I required everyone to sit down and listen to three bands of the 22 that were there, and most did more than that,” Pignataro said. “Not only hear the other bands, but also see what they’re doing. They also have to be at the equipment truck at a certain time and be really flexible because we go upstairs real fast, play the bass, and load and unload in seconds.”
Freshman Alto Saxophone player Matthew Traverso enjoyed the experience and looks forward to next year.
“I really liked playing and also seeing all the other bands, like the University of Delaware. It was amazing,” Traverso said.
The bands were not the only ‘fun’ there was in Rehoboth Beach.
“I really liked Funland. I’ve had this little tradition with Olivia [Heisey-Terrell] and Katie [Snyder],” sophomore Josie Wieland, Alto Saxophone player, said. “[It’s a] little dance party at the University of Delaware’s jazz band performance. I want to do that again next year because that was really fun.”
Pignataro hopes that the annual Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival trip is considered a fun and unique experience.
“At least once on the trip down and up, I think to myself, ‘This is too far.’ But I think the experience is worth it because I think, I think, I saw our students have fun,” Pignataro said.
Disclaimer: Reporter is a member of the Jazz Band.
