WESTBROOK – Next week marks the crescendo for a group of Westbrook High School students who’ve spent months practicing to play in front of their most critical crowds to date: their parents and a group of musical instructors.

“We’ve come so far, we’ve worked really hard to get to this point,” said Gabriella Latini, 16, a double bass player.

The 50-student Wind Ensemble band is practicing for the upcoming National Association for Music Education biennial Eastern Division Conference, held April 4-7 in Hartford, Conn.

“To be recognized at the national level is insane. All of our efforts paid of, you don’t really get that all the time,” said Katie Clarke. 17, the concert bass clarinet player.

In addition to that performance, the Wind Ensemble and the Jazz Bands, along with the high school chorus and middle school band and chorus, will be holding their spring concerts at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center next week.

The Wind Ensemble has been spending much of its time practicing “Endurance,” by Timothy Mahr, an 11-minute long song about human survival. The song was written about the Endurance expedition to the Antarctica, headed by Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton. The mission, an attempt to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic, failed, after was stranded in a northern moving ice pack and sunk, leaving the crew stranded. Eventually, after an 800-mile trek, Shackleton was able to rescue all of his men.

“It’s a big emotional piece. It’s amazing how we can connect things to music. This piece gives me chills at the big moments,” said Alicia Bonney, 17, trombone player.

The high school concert on Monday, April 1, is the only time the Wind Ensemble will be playing this piece in Westbrook, and the last chance the public will have to see the bands and chorus perform for the year. On Tuesday, April 2, the fifth- and sixth-grade band and chorus will perform, and on Wednesday, April 3, the seventh- and eighth-grade band and course will perform. All shows will take place at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center and start at 7 p.m. The concerts are free and open to the public.

Westbrook High School Wind Ensemble students have only a few more practices to go before they play in front of hundreds of music educators at the National Association for Music Educators next week. Staff photo by Suzanne Hodgson