The Marshall Orchestra and Jazz band arrived early on Saturday, May 3rd, to attend and perform at LAUSD’s Art Fest. Hosted at The Music Center and Gloria Molina Grand Park, the Arts and Education Branch of LAUSD invited various schools to attend the event to perform in an outside venue set up directly in front of the Los Angeles City Hall.

The skies were a muted grey and a crisp cold settled upon the park, but that did nothing to dampen the excitement of the students behind the stage. Upon arrival, the Marshall music groups parked themselves in a tent and began to tune their instruments and get a little practice in. Around them, dancers practiced their routines and other musical groups awaited their turn on stage.

The Marshall Orchestra went up first, playing just two songs, “Viking” and “Mystical Mage”, both of which they have played at other festivals. The performance was brief and the winds blew music sheets from their stands. Zac, the Bassist section leader commented, “The winds were annoying and it felt like they were targeting specifically me, my music kept getting blown away and I almost dropped my Bass because of it.”

However, they powered through and delivered a great performance. They were soon followed up by the Marshall Jazz band. Likewise, they also played two songs: “Straight No Chaser” and “Thriller”. Maheem, a trombonist for Jazz, said that “It was very stressful and we had to change our set list last minute, but I think the end result was worth it.”

After the performance, they had a quick lunch provided by LAUSD and went home. Overall, the students had a wonderful experience.