PUYALLUP VALLEY COMMUNITY BAND

The Family spent some time listening to the Puyallup Valley Community Band perform thirteen different numbers as part of their Spring Benefit Concert. Pieces included movements from larger pieces—”Farandole” from Bizet’s L'Arlésienne, “Sabre Dance” from Khachaturian’s Gayne Ballet—along with shorter pieces, such as “A String of Pearls” by Jerry Gray, “The League of Composers March” by Edwin Franko Goldman, and “Hail to the Spirit of Liberty March” by John Philip Sousa. The highlight of the evening, though, belonged to award-winning soloist Braden Waddell, who played the lead trumpet part in Mendez’s “La Virgen de la Macarena.” It was a wonderful, well-executed song that played to the strengths of both soloist and band.