HHS Band and Soloists Prepare for Contest
by Tiffany Schoenrock
HHS Band and Soloists Prepare For Contest
by Tiffany Schoenrock
Contest season is among the Hanover musicians. Soloists and band members are already starting to work on their music. The first contest is TVL contest, Wednesday, March 3, hosted by Onaga. All those in band and who perform a solo attend this event. TVL is a great contest for soloists because judges give them face to face constructive criticism so they can fix or modify what they need to before heading to Regional Solo Contest. Regional Contest is for soloists only. It is held at Cloud County Community College and takes place on Saturday, March 27. To go on to State Solo Contest, the soloist must receive a “I” rating at regional’s. Regional competition is very tough; very few “I” ratings are awarded. Those who receive the elusive “I” then go on to State Solo Contest held at Stucky Middle School in Wichita. The date of that contest is Saturday, April 24. Needless to say, the soloists put in considerable practice so they can do their best! Vocal soloists must perform two memorized pieces. Instrumental soloists perform one piece which does not require memorization. Only freshmen through seniors can perform at solo contest, and I don’t require anyone to perform; the students volunteer to perform a solo.
Band contest is a little different from solo contests. The 7-12 band only has two contests. They perform at TVL contest and receive the same constructive criticism as the soloists, but they don’t go on to Regionals. The band heads right from TVL contest to State Large Group Contest. State Large Group will be held in Concordia this year on Wednesday, April 14. The band performs two pieces. One is a required piece picked from the KSHSAA Required Music List. Band pieces are graded, meaning that a lower numbered piece is less difficult than a higher numbered piece. A 1A/2A school is required to play a piece grade 2 or above. A 5A/6A school is required to play a piece grade 4 or above. Because our band is smaller than most, playing the required piece can sometimes be difficult. Often times parts need to be re-written or switched around to make the piece work for us. We usually come up with some interesting ways to work it out! Being a small band, the students have become very versatile and, I think, better musicians because of this!
This year I have 5 vocal soloists: Ashley Rengstorf, Allison Bruna, Kim Doebele, Elizabeth Moore and Colleen Klecan-Eggert. This year for instrument soloists I have Jessica Minge (alto sax), Cody Nieman (baritone) and Emily White (trombone). There are also two students doing two different solos: Randall Hevelone (bassoon and baritone) and Claire Bruna (voice and alto sax). It’s a big year for me as I play all piano accompaniments for these students! Whew!
One student who needs to be acknowledged is Allison Bruna. Allison has made it to State Solo Contest since her freshman year and this will be her last year competing. That is quite an accomplishment. I’m proud to have been her music teacher all four years of her high school career!
So if you see any of the above soloists or band members wish them luck as they prepare and compete their way through the music contest season this year! The band and soloists will be featured at the Spring Fine Arts Night on Tuesday, May 11, at 7:00. Mark your calendars. We hope to see you there!!
