It was certainly a busy week for Sahuaro’s Guitar Orchestra (advanced guitar), as they “picked” up an opportunity to perform for both the TUSD Governing Board’s meeting (Tuesday the 26th) and Professor Patterson at the U of A (Wednesday the 27th). Taught by the dedicated Mr. Hemmo, Sahuaro’s Advanced Guitar had become known for their performance at The Arizona Solo and Ensemble Festival and Competition in which they placed 32nd out of around 850 performances. TUSD’s board wanted to recognize their achievement and reward them with the opportunity to perform for them. They also got the chance to get a lesson from an old co-worker of Mr. Hemmo’s from during his time at U of A. The students played the same piece, Nota Bene composed by Luke Levesque, which is, “…a cool piece for six guitar parts so it’s pretty complicated,” for both performances. Mr. Hemmo said that the class was, “…very humbled…and we’re very grateful for that opportunity.”
On Tuesday, the ensemble performed at 5:30 for a crowd of board members, parents, friends, media, and cameras. They handled it very well. Although many students said they were anxious and shaky, you would never have guessed it based on their performance. It was beautiful. Senior Myna Ruiz, who has been playing guitar for 6 years now, said, “At first we were a little nervous but once we started playing we got more comfortable.” Another member of advanced guitar, junior Paul Valenzuela said, “I was really nervous…I was anxious because I don’t like playing for crowds, but I did. I was still shaking while I was playing. I don’t know, it’s fun, but at the same time…you don’t want to mess up while playing.”
That’s how quite a few members of the ensemble felt. They were excited, but because of how important their craft was to them, they didn’t want to mess up. Anastacia Cowser, a junior who began playing in Mr. Hemmo’s beginning guitar class last year, said, “I’m nervous but I’m also excited…about the new experiences and branching out and just showing what we can do as an advanced guitar.”
The board meeting was live-streamed, so anyone who was interested could see them play. They were also featured at the end of the meeting re-cap video. The board president, Dr. Ravi Shah said in the video, “At tonight’s meeting, we were treated to an amazing performance by the Sahuaro High School Guitar Orchestra program.”
To prepare, Mr. Hemmo said all he had to do was get the class ready (an understatement in my opinion). “They are the ones that put themselves out there to play concerts. They are the ones that put themselves out there to learn music and to push themselves to do more than they can do or are able to do until they do it. So just guide – the students do the work.”
The very next day, the students tuned up their guitars and headed back out on the stage – this time at the U of A. Mr. Hemmo had known Professor Thomas Patterson from when they taught together from 1995 to 2000. Patterson has been teaching music at the U of A since 1980 – almost 35 years! “He is the teacher that I studied with when I was an undergraduate a long time ago, and when he had heard that I moved back to Tucson, he made an offer to have our Advanced Guitar students come and participate in a workshop specifically designed for them,” said Mr. Hemmo.
The Guitar Orchestra left Sahuaro at 8:45, prepared for a full day of guitar education. Once they got there, they were placed in a room, “…with a bunch of guitar majors, students from all around the world, and they received a lesson that helped them to refine their performance…then we got a tour of the fine arts campus there – it was wonderful,” Mr. Hemmo shared.
The students felt that the performances went really well and were enriching experiences for them. Paul Valenzuela said the board meeting was beneficial for him because he was able to play for an audience, an experience that was new to him. He felt that the U of A trip was his favorite after, “…just walking around the campus and also seeing all the college students and seeing ‘oh that’s going to be me in the future and I’m going to be in this building possibly and learning these things’, so that was pretty cool to see.”
Following the performances, Mr. Hemmo said, “Students really elevated their playing; everyone was super professional. They were really well received at the board performance…at the university, the students learned a lot. They were playing at the level in order to really get a good lesson that allows them to get better and consider some things as an ensemble that they hadn’t thought about. We’ve had a fantastic week.”
Congratulations to Sahuaro’s Guitar Orchestra! We love to see our Cougars out there representing us well!
