At Lincoln Center With the Mooresville High School Band

As many of my blog readers know by now, I played clarinet in marching band through my college days at The University of South Carolina. One of my good friends from college, Ken Davis, is now the band director at Mooresville High School in N.C. His band came to New York City during spring break and while they were here, they played a concert at the fountain at Lincoln Center. They were GREAT!

Lots more pictures below.

The band had beautiful weather for their trip to New York. I love the picture above because it so colorfully shows off the beautiful blue sky, and it has members of the band in front of a “New York Philharmonic” banner, which contrasts so nicely with the sky.

I remember the awesome band trips I used to go on when I was in high school and college. That was such a fun time, and it’s one of the reasons I therefore encourage young people to play an instrument. Hint. Hint. Gregory.

That’s the band’s director, Ken Davis. Great job, Ken. The band was fantastic! Sure wish we could have hung out for a while. Bring the band to NY again sometime soon!

Ken was trying to tell my son, Greg, to play trombone next year when he starts band. Sorry Ken. Greg is pretty set on saxophone at this point.

Photographing this band was not an easy task. The midday sun was blazing straight down on them. There were many sunflare and reflection issues to deal with, harsh shadows, and not all of the band was positioned in the same light; some were in full sun and a few, the drummers, were in total shade. But shooting on all manual settings and using a fill flash helped me get some nice pictures. As for the one above, since I was so worried about the harsh light, I started to wonder how I could be certain to get a few creative shots, something a little outside the usual marching band performance box. I love this shadow shot!

Drumline got the total shade.

Several instrumentalists were featured as soloists. They all sounded great, especially since Ken helped by amplifying the sound with his microphone.

The dancers did a great job too.

The girls were so fun to watch because they all looked like they were having such a good time.

I think I clicked the shutter by mistake on this shot, but I like it anyway. The impromptu audience of New Yorkers and tourists seemed very appreciative of the energetic performance.

Slowed my shutter speed way down to capture the fast movement of the sticks in the percussion solo. Love this shot!

Here’s the same shot with a more standard shutter speed for an outdoor, bright sunlight shoot. Great job, guys! I loved the cadence because it reminded me of my days in the Carolina Band.

Before the Mooresville Band got there, Gregory and I enjoyed another high school band that played by the Lincoln Center fountain. That ensemble was from California. They played traditional symphonic concert and jazz selections. I took a few shots to test my settings in that harsh light. One of their roadies had on a University of South Carolina sweatshirt. Small world, huh?

That band had a guest soloist who played some amazing pieces on flute and saxophone. I never realized before that there were regular free concerts in the Lincoln Center courtyard. What a great way to spend an afternoon! Thanks for letting me know your band would be playing there, Ken! I’m always looking for free things to do in the city!

When the Mooresville Band was playing, I was approaching taking pictures in the sense of capturing what it was like to play at the world-famous Lincoln Center in New York City. I’m sure these kids will remember their trip for many, many years.

Gregory was a little confused. Our school in Metuchen is also MHS, and the school colors are also blue and white. But, no Grex, that’s not our band. But we sure enjoyed hearing our new North Carolina friends play, and watching the beautiful dancers.

It’s hard to take pictures of a band with a danceline in front and NOT have every picture feature a dancer, so I moved around a lot.

The band sounded amazing!

I loved all the fun stuff they did too.

Of course, dancer pictures are always fun. Such great movements and expressions. And you can’t beat that beautiful Lincoln Center backdrop! I did another band shoot at Lincoln Center a few years ago. I think they changed the fountain since then. It used to be a large rectangular reflecting pool and a giant mural on one side. Click here if you would like to some of those pictures, which were actually taken all over the city.

I was trying to capture everybody, but I’m sure I missed someone.

I love the depth of this one (or lack thereof, actually).

Ken, and Grex in the background.

Wow, I love this one!

Every now and then I just have to throw in a picture of clarinets.

Love this one with the reflection of Lincoln Center in the tuba. I get a cameo in this shot. Do you see me?

What a beautiful spring day in New York. The audience had a great time.

I like how the wings in the painting are similar to the dancers’ arms.

For any of my Carolina Band friends who might be reading, the band did their own version of Scream and Shout! So COOL! I hadn’t heard that in probably 11 or 12 years since the last time I went to Alumni Band.

Loved it! Thank you so much for doing that!

The audience loved it too. And I’m loving the sunflare in this shot! See? Shooting in midday full sun can sometimes result in a cool image now and then.

To my new friends in the Mooresville Band: I hope you guys had a great time in New York. Thanks for bringing such beautiful weather with you!

Come back any time!

When the concert was over, I took some group shots of the band. More on my Facebook page, coming soon! Thanks again for the great music and for letting me take those group shots for you! I hope you enjoy them. And to the seniors at Moorestown, here’s a little tip: college band can be even more fun than high school band!

That’s me when I was in the Carolina Band. (Photo by Larry E. Newman, The State newspaper, 1984)

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