Sarasota's Pine View gets a special song for its birthday

Victor Mongillo, the band director at Pine View School, knew he wanted to make the band’s tribute to the school’s 50th anniversary something special.

“Jeffrey Jordan, the composer, and I went to Sarasota High School together. We were both in the band and Pine View’s orchestra used to come over and play with our band,” said Mongillo. “I wanted to bring someone in that had a personal connection to Pine View.”

Mongillo commissioned Jordan to come to Pine View’s wind ensemble band rehearsals in the spring. Jordan listened to the band’s rehearsals and then wrote a piece dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the school.  “Sure Stars Shining,” will debut on Dec. 18 at a special concert at Pine View.

Jordan serves on the faculty of Fort Hays State University where he conducts the wind ensemble and assists with the marching band. Jordan has previously been recognized as an award-winning composer when his piece “Salute!” (for brass choir) was selected as a winner in the Dallas Wind Symphony's Fanfare Competition in 2015.

Jordan will conduct Pine View’s wind ensemble for this debut.

“Even as a band director this is pretty much a once in a lifetime experience,” said Mongillo. "We hope other bands will be able to play the music as well, even if it's written for us, other bands should still play it."

Jemma Desiongco, a sophomore percussionist in the wind ensemble, which is the highest level of the band, is going to be playing the timpani during the performance.

“To me, because this part was written with my playing in mind, my part feels really important,” Desiongco said. “We have to do it justice. We practice it all the time.:

Desiongco said compared to other pieces she’s played, this one feels special to play because she knows the composer.

“Who gets the opportunity to play a piece where (the composer) wrote a song for us?” said Desiongco.

Pine View opened in 1969 as a school for the gifted. The school was originally housed in portable buildings near Sarasota High School before moving to its campus in Osprey in the 1990s.