Though the Northwest-Western rivalry usually causes tension at shared events, both musical departments came together for a concert in late January.

Band director Mr. Mangiavellano began the Masterworks Concert in 2009 for his Wind Ensemble class, first hosted at the First Church of the Nazarene, but changed to Western High School due to the band’s rapid growth.

“There is a big time span between our winter concert and our festivals,” said Mangiavellano. “I noticed the Wind Ensemble would get bored with their pieces after working on them for three months straight, so I decided to include another performance to help break up the time.”

The addition of Vocal Dimension in 2013 further enhanced the purpose of the Masterworks concert.

“Generally, there’s more of a challenge to the masterwork pieces,” said sophomore and member of both Wind Ensemble and Vocal Dimension Sophi Epstein. “Usually I can learn a song within a week, but with the masterwork it takes closer to three or four weeks. It absolutely takes 100 percent group effort to make the pieces sound the best that they can.”

A masterwork is any piece that has been widely accepted as a well composed piece and is played often by professionals.

Due to the extensive nature of the masterworks, regular concerts shared with other groups did not allow the full pieces to be done.

This year was the first time that the venue was shared with Western’s top band and vocal group.

“Both bands did so well and they all worked so hard on such difficult music,” said Mangiavellano. “It was highly beneficial for each of the groups to hear the other perform and learn from the unique styles each used.”

Mangiavellano hopes that, with future combined concerts, the students will have time to interact with one another and bond over their musical interests.