Cleveland’s band program went above and beyond this year to represent the skill and musical prowess of Cleveland students throughout April and May, winning individual and group awards at the state level, including third in Wind Ensemble and second for Jazz Ensemble.
To the state events for chamber music and solos, Cleveland brought 15 chamber groups (12 instrumental and three vocal) to perform on April 26 at Mt. Hood Community College. Jesse Broderick and Anwar Laraway won first place in Small Percussion with their piece, “The Librarians: Percussion Duet.” Alice Bokman, Maya Faulhaber, Ariah Piper, Vince Randol, and Jackson Kohler took second place in the Large Woodwind category, with “Double Reed Ruckus: Double Reed Quintet.” In Small Treble Vocal, Olivia Carlson and Tonantzin Ramirez performed “Cleveland Treble Duet,” and also earned second place.
Taking third place in the Small Brass category was “Middle Part Trio,” performed by Albert Leong, Vince Randol, and Remi Vasquez. In Large Percussion, Ansel Harris Crowne, Anwar Laraway, Jesse Broderick, Lukas Oliver, and Eden Warmflash, played “Tweety Fleety Birds: Percussion Quintet,” and won third place as well. Sebastian Elder and Avery Wiesler in Small Brass played“NE Portland Duet: Trumpet Duet,” and earned fourth place. In Small Woodwind, “Cleveland Woodwind Duet,” won fourth as well, played by Alice Bokman and Theo Hildebrand-Faust. Lastly, in the Large Brass category, Sebastian Elder, Avery Wiesler, Jack Schauer, Stella Tinker, and Nathan Julian, earned an additional fourth place title with “Cleveland Brass Quintet.”
The day after, April 27, 19 soloists (16 instrumental and three vocal) performed at Portland State University at the State Solo Contest. Cooper Headrick took first place in Bass Clarinet, and Tonantzin Ramirez and Olivia Carlson took first and third place respectively in Mezzo-soprano Voice. In the Trombone category, Tai Friel took third place. Alice Bokman took fourth place in Oboe, while Jesse Broderick achieved the same ranking in Orch Snare. Vince Randol rounded out Cleveland’s top finishers, finishing sixth in Bassoon.
On May 2, 2024, at 7 p.m. all three sectors of the Cleveland Band performed a preview concert for local supporters in the auditorium. On May 11, Cleveland’s band was once more successful, with a third-place finish at the state wind ensemble championship. Band Director Gary Riler explained, “PIL has never had a group place as high as third ever. The contest has been going on since 1984. We previously had been the highest placing PIL school, placing fifth the last two years.”
Then, on Saturday, May 18, the Cleveland Jazz Ensemble performed at the MEA State Jazz Band Championships on the Mt. Hood Community College campus and placed second overall. PPS, as a district, swept the top three places: first went to Grant, second was earned by Cleveland, and third was taken by Roosevelt.
“We just want to play our best and affect our audience in the right way, and we were able to accomplish that and then got a little hardware on top of it, so that was nice. […] So the fact that we were third this year (in wind ensemble) just shows some of them that we’re continuing to grow and get even stronger as a program,” said Riler.
To top off a successful year, the band is scheduled to play in the Twilight Parade for the Rose Festival on June 1.
