Hoover Band Welcomes Guests from Mexico

The Hoover High School band was visited on November 29 by Director Luis Luna and students Alejandro Chi Gonzales, clarinet, Maria Jose Chi Gonzales, saxophone, and Edoardo Ceballos, percussion, of the Banda Sinfónica Juvenil del Instituto de Cultura de Yucatán in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.  The Banda Sinfonica is an outstanding concert band comprised of the top musicians in Yucatan’s capital city of Merida, population 750,000.  The Hoover Band visited the Banda Sinfonica last March as part of a cultural exchange to the Yucatan and was very pleased to welcome these four members of that group to Iowa.  The four were guests of Central College as part of an artist-in-residence opportunity.  Central College’s Director of Bands, Mitch Lutch invited Hoover band members to participate in the finale concert of the residency in Pella on Sunday, December 2.  Hoover students performed jointly with Central College’s Wind Ensemble and College Community Band, as well as the guests from the Yucatan.  The Hoover band is very fortunate to have these ties to Central College and musicians from Iowa’s Sister State, Yucatan, Mexico.  Plans are underway to invite the full Banda Sinfonica for a residency at Hoover High School during the spring 2013 semester.