WAJ Succeeds At Music In the Parks Festival

The trophy needs to be readjusted at WAJ following recent performances by the school band and chorus.

Windham-Ashland-Jewett band and chorus members recently made an award-winning trip to the Music in the Parks Festival in Holyoke, Massachusetts, also the city of Boston.

By Michael Ryan

WINDHAM - Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School Band & Chorus members celebrating their success at the Music in the Parks Festival.

On April 10-12, select Band and Chorus members from Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School, under the direction of Leslie Beauregard and Annie Drewello, traveled to Boston, Massachusetts for an exciting tour of the city.

Three packed days were filled with fun and history as they visited the New England Aquarium, walked the Freedom Trail, saw The Blue Man Group in concert, culminating their whirlwind trip with a performance at the Music in the Parks Festival in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

All members of the Junior and Senior Bands and Choruses were given the opportunity to audition to be a part of the performance and attend the trip. The students listed below met all audition requirements and were able to participate in their respective ensembles:

Piper Cohane, Payton Dempsey, Hailey Dolan, Charlie Doran, Abby Gardner, Nyarah Garver, John Garzone, Lizzie Gonzalez, Maddie Gonzalez, Brian Greene, Christian Greene, Angeleah Griffin, Addi Hansen;

Mackenzie Holdridge, Sofia Hoshenko, Aly Hoyt, Avery LaPlace, Phoebe Leach, Ben Leto, Selina Li, Grant Lonecke, Jack Lonecke, Chris Lopez, Gabe Maeurer, Daisy Mason, Peter Matteo, Aedan Milstead, Lilly Nelson;

Chloe Palumbo, Jayden Palumbo, Isabel Pedrick, Jack Pellettier, Owen Pellettier, Val Petrie, Kayla Rusk, Devin Schlosser, Jackie Sherman, Riley Slater, Harrison Smith, Addy Sutch, Jacob Sutch, Matt Weiman, Lexie Weinberg and Mia Zuniga.

Music in the Parks is a motivational, one-day festival where the students perform two musical selections for adjudicators, and receive a rating.

As part of the process, judges provide both written and recorded comments on the performance. The students are rated on categories such as: tone, interpretation, diction, technique, etc.

We are very pleased to announce that their dedication throughout the process truly paid off. Both the Band and Chorus earned a trophy for their performances and scored in the category of “superior!,” (the highest rating that an ensemble can earn).

In addition to the awards received by the performing ensembles, WAJ senior, Aly Hoyt, was also presented a medal for her Outstanding Solo Performance as part of the 7-12 Chorus. This is a special award that is given by the judges to just one performer per festival.

The adjudicators provided very useful suggestions to further strengthen the ensembles, as well as positive reinforcement for the areas in which our groups excelled.

The Band received such comments as, “a lot of great playing here. There is a confidence with which you play which is an indication of your hard work to get to this point.”

Other comments were, “lovely. What a wonderful balance in the ensemble.” “Great job in the transitions of the piece - you did that really seamlessly.” and “Overall great job, I enjoyed your performance very much and I really liked your selection of literature.”

Some comments for the Chorus were, “I’m really noticing, and am impressed with your unified vowels that allow the ensemble to have a beautiful, balanced sound.”

“I appreciate your nice articulation.” “You have a very full, cohesive sound and good tone quality.” “It was beautiful,” the adjudicators said.

Mrs. Beauregard & Miss Drewello are very proud of the accomplishments of the students in the program this year and are grateful for the students who went the “extra mile” to prepare for this festival.

Their hard work and dedication shone through. Also, a huge thank you to the administration, Board of Education and chaperones who made this trip a reality for us all. We are very fortunate to work in a community that continues to support and nurture music studies at WAJ.