Marysville-Pilchuck band students prepare to play for the Navy

Published 12:01 am Saturday, December 19, 2009

MARYSVILLE — The sound that came out when Anthony Luketich first tried playing the trombone was not what he expected.

Now he’s much more accomplished, and the Marysville-Pilchuck High School junior and 20 other students from the school’s winds ensemble will perform during a change of command ceremony for the USS Shoup at Naval Station Everett today.

The job is usually reserved for the Navy band but it couldn’t play this time, said John Rants, the school’s band director. The winds ensemble recently performed with the Seattle Symphony. They also played at the Navy base several times.

Luketich started learning music because he was inspired by his dad, also a trombone player. In the ensemble, though, Luketich plays the baritone, a similar instrument.

For Elliott Brubaker, Saturday’s concert means an opportunity to connect with his father, who served in the Navy.

“He thinks it’s really awesome that I’m doing something for the Navy because he can relate to it,” he said before rehearsal on Wednesday evening.

They’ve been rehearsing for weeks, Rants said. They logged 225 hours since August — on top of classes, sports, Advanced Placement courses and much more.

“They’ve been putting in the extra hours to make this happen,” he said.

Karen Doronio said she doesn’t mind the extra work. She devotes a lot of her time to music and will do anything for the band.

Doronio plays the clarinet — an instrument she chose for its smooth sound and because it was one of the few her brothers haven’t played.

Many of the students got involved with the band because of their parents or older siblings. Some, like Chris Mischenko and Harley Layton, found a real passion.

Music helps the students in every area of their lives, Rants said. In the band, they learn time management and social skills. Playing music also can help with math or other sciences, or learning a foreign language — after all, music is a foreign language at its core, Rants said.

He teaches band and math classes at the high school.

Sarah Husted plays the French horn in the ensemble. Like others, she’s excited to play at Naval Station Everett.

“I kind of feel honored because I feel like we are stepping up,” she said.

On Wednesday evening, voices and laughter hushed as the students prepared to rehearse. A silence fell over the auditorium, but only for a moment before the ensemble plunged into the sounds of “America the Beautiful.”

Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.