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wilmettebeacon.com life & arts
the wilmette beacon | November 9, 2017 | 19
Battle of the Bands brings kids, music together
Daniel I. Dorfman
Freelance Reporter
Moments after he and
his classmates captured the
Winnetka Youth Organization’s
Battle of the Bands
competition Oct. 27, Aidan
Celnar, guitar player for
the band Odyssey, reveled
in the triumph.
After three hours with
four separate bands performing
30-minute sets,
Cellar and the rest of his
Odyssey bandmates (a
mix of Loyola Academy
and Glenbrook South High
School students) tuned
their way to a win in the
inaugural battle held at
the Winnetka Community
House via a decision from
the three-judge panel.
“It’s crazy. I’ve never
done something like this
before,” Celnar said. “It
was an awesome opportunity
to get to play this.”
The “this” Celnar referred
to was a fresh initiative
from the Winnetka
Youth Organization.
Christina Gikas, recently
installed as the group’s
executive director, said the
WYO has always had teen
concerts of its nearly fivedecade
history and she was
looking to maintain that
custom with Battle of the
Bands.
“I really love bringing
the kids together because
music brings people and
the kids together,” Gikas
said.
Battle of the Bands featured
students from New
Trier High School, Loyola
Loyola Academy student Alex Bentkowska sings lead
vocals for her band, Odyssey, during the Battle of the
Bands competition Oct. 27 at Winnetka Community
House. Rhonda Holcomb/22nd Century Media
Academy and Glenbrook
South spread over four
groups.
Odyssey featured five
members, and Alex Bentkowska,
a Loyola Academy
student, gathered
the most attention with
her singing. While she
normally performs opera
and classical music, Bentkowska
is venturing out
and trying her voice at a
form of rock.
What exact genre was
she singing on the 27th?
She admits that is a question
which does not have a
clear answer.
“We call it alternative
because we don’t know
how to exactly label it,”
Bentkowska said. “We are
not sure what we are yet.”
Whatever it was, it was
good enough to impress
the judges.
Because of the win, each
of the five members will
get a gift certificate from
the Music Institute of Chicago.
“There is a sense of triumph,
but mostly, it was
a really fun experience,”
Bentkowska said. “It is really
cool to get a sense of
accomplishment and recognition.”
Of the four groups vying
for the title, three, including
Odyssey, did some version
of rock.
However, Hindsight Effect,
a 13-member band
composed of GBS students,
performed “hard
jazz,” specifically with
their song, “Can You Dig
It,” associated with the
Iron Man movies.
Also taking part was a
three-member New Trier
sophomore group, who
had given themselves the
name of Aerius and displayed
their “progressive
metal” skills.
The band is comprised
of Nolan Kiser, 15, Liam
Fagan, 15, and Austin Lyons,
16, all of Wilmette.
“It is made to be difficult
to groove to,” Kiser said.