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Pacific Winds small ensemble performs at Town House
Atsuko Eck, right, uses a manual typewriter in one of the performances by the Saipan Pacific Winds Concert Band last Saturday at Town House Department Store. Also in photo are, from left, Yijia Zhao, Fumi Nimura, Ted Parker, and Joshua Sablan. (Jon Perez)
The small ensemble of the Saipan Pacific Winds Concert Band held a Yamaha Concert last Saturday at the Town House Department Store in Chalan Kanoa. The concert is part of Town House’s one-day sale of band instruments and audio and video equipment.
Atsuko Eck (saxophone), Ted Parker (tuba), Joshua Sablan (clarinet and French horn), Yijia Zhao and Fumi Nimura (clarinet), Ayeon Lee and Rachel Kim (flute), and Mark Mirante (trumpet) were the band members that performed.
The band, which has 20 members, played several classical and contemporary music with one piece accompanied by a manual typewriter.
“It’s not hard to use a typewriter as a musical instrument. It is monotonous like a snare drum, like a rhythm instrument. You just need the proper timing since the sound is ‘tak, tak, tak,’” said Parker.
“I’ve been looking for a manual typewriter on Saipan but most of the offices have an electronic. Good thing my friend in Japan still has one so he brought it here,” added Eck.
Pacific Winds, composed mostly of adults and Saipan Southern High School students, also used the event as part of their information campaign in looking for new members. Several students from Marianas High School and Saipan International School are also part of the community band.
Eck said they are looking for new members that already have background in playing musical instruments. “No beginners. We’re not going to teach how to play a musical instrument here. We want those who have a background but hasn’t played for a while.”
The band had previously performed in the Tumon Bay Music Festival in 2011 in Guam, but now has been accompanying the SSHS Manta Ray Band in the annual competition.
“We just chaperon SSHS’ band for a couple of years now. We help these kids focused in music. Only Saipan Southern and Saipan Community School have band programs on the island,” said Parker.
He added that their band program usually starts in the fourth grade with introduction to music and the instruments used.
Acoustic, bass, and electric guitars, baby grand piano, clarinets, a clavinova, digital piano, drum and electric drum set, tambourines, trombones, trumpets, toca percussion, and ukuleles are some of the instruments sold at Town House.
