Young musicians from across the county will show off their
skills Thursday during the annual San Benito County Music
Festival.
Hollister – Young musicians from across the county will show off their skills Thursday during the annual San Benito County Music Festival.
More than 350 music students from the county’s elementary, middle and high schools will perform at 7pm Thursday in the Mattson Gymnasium at San Benito High School, said Joe Ostenson, music teacher for Rancho San Justo and Marguerite Maze Middle schools.
“They’re good kids,” he said. “They’re a lot of fun. It keeps me going.”
The festival has been part of San Benito County history for more than five decades, said Ostenson, who has been teaching music to the county’s children since 1965.
Among other pieces, Ostenson’s Rancho/Maze band will play a march called “Peace Maker” and the Civil War inspired piece “Road Unknown”.
San Benito High School’s Scarlet Regiment Band will be playing a variety of music, including a standard John Philip Sousa march, a medley of Broadway tunes and “Smooth” by Carlos Santana, according to James Zuniga, music teacher at the high school. The high school’s drum line will also be performing music from the motion picture “SWAT”, he said.
Music is a way for students to express themselves, Zuniga said.
“They want to express in this form what everybody feels,” he said.
In addition to its traditional significance, the festival is proof that, “Public school music is still alive and well, and will survive,” Ostenson said
There is no admission fee charged for the event. But come early, Ostenson said because he expects the gym to fill up fast.
Luke Roney covers education and agriculture for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected]
