An enthusiastic audience, students at the Cripple Creek-Victor Junior/Senior High School cheered for the Philharmonic Brass Quintet. After an educational session in the classrooms, the musicians performed jazz and swing tunes from past decades. 

The students loved all of it; you could see it by their reactions during the performance May 20 in the gymnasium.

The moderator, Charlie, who plays the tuba, introduced the musicians by first names, James and Don, who play the trumpet; Matt, on the French horn and Jeremy, the trombone.  The kids cheered, yelled and clapped after the introductions.

Charlie gave little tidbits about the music the quintet was about to play.

“Jazz came before rock ‘n roll,” he said.

Already engaged, the students perked up even more when Charlie announced that the quintet would be playing for the new “Jedi” and “Harry Potter” movies.

“Are you having a good time?” Charlie said to which the students replied with a loud collective “Yes!!!!” and vigorous clapping.

After the performance, two students stayed around to comment.

“The performance was beautiful and I found myself captivated by it,” said Wren Justice, 12. “I really feel that I connected with the music.”

RiLynn Monger agreed.

“I think it was magical,” said Monger, 12. “I felt the music through my heart and soul.”

The performance was funded by a grant to the school from The Center for Future Audiences, an initiative of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic dedicated to cultivating the next generation of concertgoers.

The school’s math teacher, Grace Holvama, organized the event for the school. 

“The grant for the performance exposes kids to the cultural arts,” Holvama said.