NHS Students Selected As Top Musicians
NHS Students Selected
As Top Musicians
Each year the Connecticut Music Educators Association holds an adjudication festival for high school musicians. Students come from all over the state to audition for their regional music festival and ultimately, the All-State Music Festival. This year, more than 5,000 students went to the initial adjudication in November. To demonstrate their technical skill and musicianship, students perform their audition piece (from a specific repertoire list), along with scales and a sight-reading excerpt. They are given a score based on that audition.
Newtown High School had 21 students selected, who attended the Western Regional High School Music Festival in January at Wilton High School. These musicians rehearsed with nationally known guest conductors for two days and presented a concert on January 8. These Newtown students were selected as among the top high school musicians in Fairfield County: Nicholas Isles, Emily Loose, Alison Lones, David Wilkins, Lindsey Jones, Brianna Eckhardt, Melanie Beck, Maggie DeMarco, Stephen Petrovich, Erik Bagger, Paul Ashey, Jacky Curran, Ryan Silveira, Lauren Howell, Alicia Rogers, Emily Hill, Sara Davis, Emily Goldman, Jeremy Hodge, Sean Gerety, and Nick Drabik.
Once students had participated in their regional festival, a second judging was done to select the All-State musicians. That audition was held in February. Newtown had five students selected for the 2005 All-State High School Music Festival: Brianna Eckhardt, voice; Sean Gerety, trumpet; Nicholas Isles,bass violin; Alicia Rogers, clarinet; and Ryan Silveira, voice.
On April 1 and 2 the Fairfield County String Teachers Association held its annual festival at Western Connecticut State University. This festival gives the best string students in grades sixânine the opportunity to come together and work with nationally recognized guest conductors. They performed on April 2. This year Newtown had seven students that auditioned and were selected as among the best string players in Fairfield County in grades 6â12. They were: Sarah Attanasio, Gretchen Streett, Christopher Teri, Meghan Loose, Rachel Fintz, Emily Loose, and Christie Attanasio.