For the first time in 40 years, the Coronado High School Concert Band received the highest possible honor, a Unanimous Superior Rating, at the California Music Educators Association Band and Orchestra Festival (CMEA).
The band, directed by Matt Heinecke, consisted of 24 CHS band students and seven advanced band students from Coronado Middle School.
The April 12 festival evaluated musicians on a wide set of criteria including tone quality, rhythmic precision and dynamic contrast, among other things. And the Islanders earned top marks across the board.
“I want to convey how proud I am of these guys and how much they worked to accomplish this.”
-Director Matt Heinecke
“I want to convey how proud I am of these guys and how much they worked to accomplish this,” Heinecke said.
Heinecke graduated from CHS in 1997 and was a member of the band in high school. He returned to his alma mater to direct the high school band in 2008 and then started at the middle school in 2016; he also previously taught at Village Elementary School.
With a long history directing local student bands, Heinecke has had a front row seat observing this group’s persistence and tenacity to get to this point, especially considering their rebuild after the pandemic.
According to Heinecke, it has been a long process to virtually start over from scratch after diminished participant numbers.
“Our numbers are still low, which is why I supplemented with the middle school students,” he said. “To be able to have kids as young as 13 playing with 18-year-olds and be able to come away with a top rating— I couldn’t believe that we pulled that off… It was really remarkable.”
