These
fine musicians recently missed a total of SEVEN rehearsals due to snow,
cold, ice, and a meeting that took many of the 8th graders out of class
one day. Even after all that, they managed to stay on track with the
preparation of their music so that they were able to participate in the
MSBOA District XVI Band and Orchestra Festival at Avondale High School
on Thursday, February 28th as scheduled.
The
group traveled to Avondale after school on the 28th, and due to busing
issues had to forfeit part of their warm-up time. Despite the setbacks,
they beautifully performed their three prepared pieces in the school’s
auditorium in front of a large audience and three judges, after which
they moved to the sight-reading room to play for a fourth judge. Here
they were given a piece of music neither they nor their director had
seen before and were given five minutes to discuss it. At the
conclusion of the five minutes, they played the piece for adjudication,
receiving a first division rating for the performance.
The
overall rating for the entire experience was a second division rating.
The students will all receive medals, and the band will have yet
another plaque to proudly hang in the band room. Congratulations to all
of these outstanding 8th and 9th grade students!