Cedarville Musicans Earn High Marks at Band Festival

Karissa Schlosser (from left), Emily Pieri, MacKenzie Sudol, Erin Smith, and Alice Coyne earned a top rating at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association's District 13 Solo and Ensemble competition for their performance as an ensemble. (Les Cheneaux Community Schools photograph)

Cedarville Middle School and High School band students earned 19 first (I) division ratings and four second (II) division ratings at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association District 13 Solo and Ensemble Festival January 19 in Pickford.

Cedarville had a record number of entries this year, with 23 students performing as soloists or as a member of an ensemble, said Alan Jacobus, the schools' music director. Students performed music for judges, and were graded in five categories, then given a rating. The first division rating indicates superior work and performance. A second division rating indicates a high level of performance, with some areas that need improvement.

Cedarville High School students who participated and earned first division ratings include Emily Pieri with an oboe solo; Karissa Schlosser, Emily Pieri, Alice Coyne, MacKenzie Sudol, and Erin Smith for their woodwind quintet performance; Meghan Spencer, Danielle Weaver, Erin Winberg, and Logan Smith for a percussion quartet performance, and Jacob Strait, Ian McGreevy, Brent Heerspink, Patrick Duman, and Matthew Schlosser for a percussion quintet performance. Isaiah Murray performed an oboe solo for a second division rating.

Cedarville Middle School students who participated and earned a first division rating included the members of the brass quartet, Jordan Chisholm, Todd Hecht, Dylan Badour, and Patrick Weaver. The percussion trio of Tucker Haske, Alice Coyne, and Daniel Landreville earned a second division rating.

Cedarville Middle School and High School bands competed in the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association District 13 Band Festival at Rudyard High School February 21 and February 22, and they each received first division ratings. During the two-day festival, 19 bands from the Eastern Upper Peninsula were judged by four adjudicators.

Both bands received first division ratings from each of the four judges in concert and sight reading performances. This is the 10th year in a row that both bands have received first division ratings at the district level.

MSBOA festivals serve as a musical "MEAP" test for band students around the state, said Les Cheneaux Community Schools Music Director Alan Jacobus. Students are judged in several categories, including, tone, intonation, technique, and musical interpretation, so the ratings by the adjudicators are an indication of how band programs compare to state standards.

By receiving a first division rating, the bands now qualify to compete in the MSBOA State Festival. The festival will be Friday, April 25, and will be hosted by the Les Cheneaux Community Schools in Cedarville.