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On the Road Again: Upper School Instrumental Ensembles Go On Tour, Rack Up Awards
Apr 10, 2013 2:25 PM
By Will Camp - FF/S
Wow, what a weekend! Two festivals and 1,500 miles later, the six instrumental ensembles I toured this year came back very well decorated for their efforts. What's more impressive is that each student was in no less than two ensembles.
Our first stop was Friday, April 5, in Atlanta, Ga., for the FiestaVal music festival. This was our best showing by far. The kids were pumped and the festival just loved our diversity. By the end our show, all judges were on stage praising the kids for getting such a diverse music education. I think what put us over the top with the judges was the Dixieland Combo/Barbershop Quartet. How many schools around the country have a Dixieland Combo with a Barbershop Quartet feature? Not many, I assure you.
Orlando was our next stop and anyone that knows Florida music festivals knows that they like the bigger bands! I thought of all the years for us to step up and tangle with some of the best bands from around the country, this was the year. OrlandoFest is a band extravaganza and we went up against some of the best. The shining moments were the String Orchestra and, again, the Jazz groups. Unfortunately, being a band-heavy festival, there were no other orchestras to compete against in the Orlando festival, but the group was judged against national standards and received a Superior rating and was our highest scoring ensemble. The Jazz Combo/Dixieland Combo went toe to toe with several of the finest jazz ensembles from around the country and took silver with a Superior rating behind the Glenelg High School Jazz Band from Maryland (one of the finest jazz programs in the nation).
Congratulations to all the ensembles! You all did an amazing job!!!!! Click here for photos.
Here are the final results from both festivals:
FiestaVal - Atlanta, Ga.
Brass Choir, 1st place, Superior
String Orchestra, 1st place, Superior
Dixieland Combo, 1st place, Superior
Jazz Combo, 2nd place, Superior
Latin Percussion, 1st place, Superior
Steel Band, 2nd place, Superior
Outstanding Viola Soloist, David Ethridge
Outstanding Violin Section
Outstanding Cello Section
Outstanding Jazz Soloist, Destiny Sewell
Outstanding Jazz Soloist, Jeff Herzog
2013 Instrumental Division Champions
2013 Festival Grand Champions, High School Division
OrlandoFest - Orlando, Fla.
Brass Choir, Gold Award, Excellent
String Orchestra, Gold Award, Superior
Steel Band, Excellent
Latin Percussion, Bronze Award, Excellent
Jazz Combo, Silver Award, Superior
Dixieland Combo, Superior
Our first stop was Friday, April 5, in Atlanta, Ga., for the FiestaVal music festival. This was our best showing by far. The kids were pumped and the festival just loved our diversity. By the end our show, all judges were on stage praising the kids for getting such a diverse music education. I think what put us over the top with the judges was the Dixieland Combo/Barbershop Quartet. How many schools around the country have a Dixieland Combo with a Barbershop Quartet feature? Not many, I assure you.
Orlando was our next stop and anyone that knows Florida music festivals knows that they like the bigger bands! I thought of all the years for us to step up and tangle with some of the best bands from around the country, this was the year. OrlandoFest is a band extravaganza and we went up against some of the best. The shining moments were the String Orchestra and, again, the Jazz groups. Unfortunately, being a band-heavy festival, there were no other orchestras to compete against in the Orlando festival, but the group was judged against national standards and received a Superior rating and was our highest scoring ensemble. The Jazz Combo/Dixieland Combo went toe to toe with several of the finest jazz ensembles from around the country and took silver with a Superior rating behind the Glenelg High School Jazz Band from Maryland (one of the finest jazz programs in the nation).
Congratulations to all the ensembles! You all did an amazing job!!!!! Click here for photos.
Here are the final results from both festivals:
FiestaVal - Atlanta, Ga.
Brass Choir, 1st place, Superior
String Orchestra, 1st place, Superior
Dixieland Combo, 1st place, Superior
Jazz Combo, 2nd place, Superior
Latin Percussion, 1st place, Superior
Steel Band, 2nd place, Superior
Outstanding Viola Soloist, David Ethridge
Outstanding Violin Section
Outstanding Cello Section
Outstanding Jazz Soloist, Destiny Sewell
Outstanding Jazz Soloist, Jeff Herzog
2013 Instrumental Division Champions
2013 Festival Grand Champions, High School Division
OrlandoFest - Orlando, Fla.
Brass Choir, Gold Award, Excellent
String Orchestra, Gold Award, Superior
Steel Band, Excellent
Latin Percussion, Bronze Award, Excellent
Jazz Combo, Silver Award, Superior
Dixieland Combo, Superior
