District VI Music Festival

114 talented musicians from 18 different schools within District VI worked hard to prepare and perform in Springfield an amazing selection of music at their concert for a captivated audience.

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District VI Music Festival Submitted by admin on Thu, 02/11/2016 - 3:19pm BY AIYANA FORTIN The Vermont Journal PHOTO: The High School choir prepares to sing at the Winter District Music Festival in Springfield, VT. Photo by Sherri Geimer SPRINGFIELD, VT ­ 114 talented musicians from 18 different schools within District VI rehearsed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29 and 30. Members of the Middle School Band, High School Choir, and the High School Jazz Band auditioned and worked hard to prepare and perform an amazing selection of music at their concert for a captivated audience; there was more to this festival than meets the eye. Choral auditions in early December led to an extended period of suspense in the minds of many choristers as they awaited their results. In late December music teachers received long-awaited emails and good news was delivered to many students who auditioned. Music arrived soon thereafter, and preliminary rehearsals began. As was advised in the congratulations letter in the folder, everyone knew spending more time learning notes, rhythms, and lyrics before the festival would leave more time to spend making music with others who had done the same. January 29 arrived sooner than expected, and while everyone was excited to skip a day of school, they knew this time would be well spent. After many reunions and introductions, rehearsals were ready to begin. Dr. Carolina Flores, Associate Professor of Music at Manchester Community College, was the guest director for the High School choir. At the college, she conducts the MCC Chorale and the Madrigal Singers and teaches. Native to Spain, she is not only a guest conductor, but also an adjudicator, clinician, award-winning pianist, past President of the Connecticut American Choral Directors’ Association (CT­ACDA) and director at St. Theresa R.C. Church in Trumbull, CT. Dr. Flores directs with humor, but carries high expectation of her choir. With years of experience, Dr. Flores had never conducted a choir from our district, but that was all about to change. After warm-ups, the choir rehearsed each piece of music diligently, spending over an hour on each piece, taking breaks for lunch, water, quick naps, and trips to the restroom. Singers worked to add pitch to their consonants, emote, listen to each other, sing with passion and experience, and add a little theatrical touch to finalize each piece. After dress rehearsals, getting dressed, and finding seats, the concert was about to begin. The concert began at 3 p.m. with the Middle School band, directed by Alicia Rockenhauser, who teaches and directs seven different ensembles at Iber Holmes Grove Middle School in Raymond, NH. Ms. Rockenhauser performs as an oboist for the New Hampshire Philharmonic and the SNHU Wind Ensemble. She was beyond thrilled to conduct at a music festival for the first time. This auditioned middle school band put in as much work as the Chorus did, and everyone in the audience could easily see their work and preparation put into each of their four numbers. Starting with “Fire Brand,” by Eric Osterling, then ”The Red Balloon,” by Anne McGuinty, “Cumberland Cross,” and ending with “Drive,” a quick, jazzy piece that left the audience exploding in applause.The Chorus filed onto the risers, and performed “The Animals Improvise Counterpoint,” also called “Contrapunto bestiale alla mente,” a piece from the 16th century by Adriano Banchieri, featuring nonsense lyrics that were a combination of Italian and Latin, and a menagerie of animal characters. The next piece was “Dawn,” by Eric William Barnum, whose lyrics told the story of life; there are always doors, and when one closes, another opens. The chorus continued with “Gloria from Coronation Mass in C,” written by Mozart, “And So It Goes,” by Billy Joel, written in 1983 and inspired by a relationship that wasn’t going to work out. The final piece was “Cielito Lindo,” a flirty Mexican Folk song from the late 19th century arranged by B. Harlow. The High School Jazz Band, directed by Jeff Holmes, took it away with “But Not for Me,” by George Gershwin and arranged by Bob Mintzer, “Fee­Fi­Fo­Fum,” “Cubano Chant,” and “Binky,” written by Michael League and arranged by Ryan Middagh. Their final piece, “Things Ain’t What They Used To Be,” by Mercer Ellington and arranged by Dave Lalama, received a well­deserved standing ovation for their fine work and musical talent. Mr. Holmes is an accomplished pianist, composer, arranger, and trumpeter, with his work selected to receive the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Composition Grants. He’s written music for John Abercrombie, Ernie Watts, Max Roach, Chris Vadala, and Paul Winter, as well as for professional, military, collegiate, high school, and junior high ensembles nationally. This brought the concert to an end. For some it was their last district concert, but for others it was their first. Either way, everyone left with an energetic smile and new techniques under their belt for their next performance.