by Pombie Silverman

On Jan. 5 at Fairfield High School in Fairfield, Iowa, Iowa City West High band students auditioned for the Southeastern Iowa Bandmasters Association Honor Band (SEIBA). According to West Band Director Rich Medd, students were expected to polish the 12 major scales, perform an etude or technical piece and a solo excerpt. The students competed against other students from the southeastern portion of Iowa, one of six districts of Iowa Bandmasters Association (IBA).
On Feb. 19, students will spend six hours rehearsing a band piece at West High, ending with a performance at 5:00 p.m. According to Medd, the SEIBA Festival provides “good experience for like-minded students who are serious about music. It’s rewarding to see non-All-Staters make first chair and get solos.”
Clarinetist Juliann Skarda ’13 agrees.
“SEIBA is a band where you know everyone really wants to be there and is really motivated because they went through all the work of preparing for four or five months for this festival. It’s very exciting and motivating to be working all together,” Skarda said.
Medd advises to buy tickets early for the SEIBA Festival.
“We’ve been hosting SEIBA for the past 18 years, and the auditorium usually sells out. It’s great to see other directors and parents see our great facilities,” Medd said. “The live band setting is a great experience for our school.”