Band Students who received a Division 1 rating From Left to Right (Top Row) Brooks Baier, Garrett Surman, Pelle Weiss, Joseph Withrow (Bottom Row) Libby Albright, Emily Carnahan, Katie Husak, Kylie Husak Not pictured: Josey Wacha

On Saturday March 25, STC Vocal and Instrumental Music students spent the day at Grinnell High School competing in the Iowa High School Music Association State Solo and Ensemble Festival. Performers, sometimes joined with piano accompaniment, began preparing works of music months ago to be performed in front of a judge.

STC Band Director Mike Carnahan and Choir Director Chris McFate prepared students by matching them with appropriate musical literature and diving in depth with each performer.

22 Total South Tama students took part in the contest.

Most events at the contest are judged on a 35 point scale with different categories of criteria being applied to the works of music. These categories include: tone quality, intonation, rhythm, technique, interpretation and musicianship, and finally other performance factors.

To receive the highest rating (Division One) a musician must score at least 32 of 35 points of the ballot the judge fills out during the performance.

Libby Albright was the lone choir student to receive a 1 for a vocal solo.

A huge aid to students preparing and bringing works of music to contest is piano accompaniment. This year three talented piano players aided various musicians in their respective events. Josh Grimes accompanied ten total students, Teressa Smith took on nine, and Rachel Davis took on two students.

Teressa Smith and Rachel Davis are both full time teachers in this district. Smith is the middle school band director while Davis teaches high school language arts. Mrs. Davis has quite the background in playing piano. Starting at the age of seven and continuing on throughout college studying all four years at Wartburg.

All three accompanists provided a wealth of musical knowledge and assistance to each of their paired soloists.

At the end of the contest South Tama brought home twelve events with a Division One rating. Those events are as follows:

Libby Albright – Vocal Solo

Brooks Baier – Trombone Solo

Emily Carnahan – Trumpet Solo

Emily Carnahan – Piano Solo

Katie Husak – Solo

Kylie Husak – Alto Sax Solo

Garrett Surman – Snare Drum Solo

Josey Wacha – Euphonium Solo

Pelle Weiss – Trumpet Solo

Joseph Withrow – French Horn Solo

Katie Husak & Joseph Withrow – Clarinet/Horn Duet

Libby Albright, Emily Carnahan, Josey Wacha, Pelle Weiss, and Joseph Withrow – Brass Quintet

Your final chance to see these different musical performances is on Sunday, April 16 at 1 p.m. at the Wieting Theater. The recital is free and open to anyone. Light refreshments will be served afterwards.