WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — High school students in Williamsville got to be a part of a special performance Wednesday, helping debut a new piece of music written by a world-famous composer.
Dutch composer Johan De Meij wrote the piece, "The Painted Bird," specially for a combined ensemble performance for band students from Williamsville North, East and South high schools.
De Meij says the piece was based on a book of the same name.
"I tried to create images that go with the book so it's a very aggressive piece, it starts with very low sounds in the trombones and bassoons there's no melody so it feels very muddy that music describes the angst, anxiety of the boy who's the main character in the book," De Meij said.
The premiere of "The Painted Bird" was part of the Williamsville Wind Ensemble Festival, which was originally supposed to take place in 2020 but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can watch the full performance here.
