Middle School Bands and Choruses have busy month

7th AND 8th GRADE 2004 HONORS MUSIC FESTIVAL, FEBRUARY 28th

The Winslow Homer Center of Performing Arts at Scarborough High School was the setting for the 2004 7^th and 8^th Grade Honors Music Festival, held on Friday, February 27^th and Saturday, February 28^th.  Musicians from 8 area schools auditioned for placement in the band and chorus in November.  The students were brought together for two days of intensive rehearsals with guest conductors David Tromba, concert band, and Rob Westerberg, chorus.  Both programs included music of very high caliber, which delighted and challenged the students.  Congratulations to the 7^th and 8^th grade musicians from both Memorial and Mahoney who were selected for this honor: 

Memorial Chorus         Memorial Band            Mahoney Band          Mahoney Chorus

Hannah Rowell     Meaghan McKinnon  Johnna Landau    Chelsea Towson

Brittany Plummer  Linda Morton                       Hannah Roderick

Michelle Harvey   Alyssa Mira                        Kirsten Bakke

Shane Brewster    Holly Everest                      Amanda Allan

Kelly Esty        Sarah Violette                     Seth Gaffar

Diane Nguyen      Brian Huynh                        Daniel Jones

Vanessa Foley     Ben Fox                            Lauren LaPointe

Brianna Wing      Jessica Thomes                     Parker Gerrish

Katie Mortenson   Albie Gingrich                     Nick Link

Sam Story         Emily Ledue                        Hannah Rosengren

Laura Patriquin   Carolyn Conley                     Ben Cobleigh

                  George Murray                      Jacob Bruneau

                  Will Whipple                       Francis Manuel

                  Tom Biskup                         David Knowland

                  Jake Viola                         Eli Noll

                  Ryan Chapin

The concert was an outstanding success.  The students have since returned to their school-based programs, where they are sharing what they have learned with their peers.

6th GRADE 2004 HONORS MUSIC FESTIVAL, MARCH 13th

Our very own South Portland Performing Arts Center was the setting for the 2004 6^th Grade Honors Music Festival, held on Saturday, March 13^th.  Musicians from 15 area schools were selected on teacher recommendation to represent their schools in an honors band and chorus.  The students came together very early on Saturday morning to rehearse with their guest conductors Larry Jackson, concert band , and Heidi Corliss, chorus.  For many students from smaller schools, this was a day of firsts—a first large group experience, a first performance in a wonderful facility, and a first chance to meet other musicians their age.  Congratulatations to the 6^th grade musicians from both Memorial and Mahoney who were selected for this honor:   

Memorial Chorus         Memorial Band            Mahoney Chorus          Mahoney Band

Kaiya Hanson      Kate DeHaas       Phoebe Shank      Katie Langerman

Chelsea Bartlett  Seth Martin       Amanda Kierman    Savannah King

Kristin Jerome    Kate Murray       Jordyn Kinney     Ari Notis

Alexis Emerson    Elizabeth Hardy   Jonathan Clement  Matt Ross

Kaitlin Geary     Thu-Trang Ho                        Hannah Noll

Krystal Lake      Shanti Flagg                        Greg Reinhold

                  Dillon DeMille                      Chris Harle

                  Seth Woodman                        Will Carter

                  James LeDue                         Adam Burpee

                  Alex Roy                            James Foote

                  Sam Belton

                  Ryan Herron

                  Harry Gingrich

The students had an outstanding performance and returned to schools very enthusiastic about their experiences. 

A special thank you goes out to all of the amazingly supportive parents in South Portland .  Teachers and parents alike commented on how organized and well-run the festival was. The music staff of South Portland acknowledges all of the wonderful help from our parent volunteers, who did everything from selling cookies to taking tickets to assisting students.  It was a wonderful day.

STATE MIDDLE SCHOOL JAZZ FESTIVAL, MARCH 27th

The Middle School Jazz Bands of Memorial and Mahoney represented South Portland admirably at the State Middle School Jazz Festival held at Nokomis High School on Saturday, March 27^th.  The students were fortunate to hear other outstanding young musicians from around the state, and to perform for supportive parents and audience members.  The Memorial Jazz Band earned a “1” rating from the judges and the Mahoney Performance Jazz Band earned a very high “2” rating, missing a “1” by just .3!  All soloists earned Outstanding Musician Awards from both schools—congratulations!  Thanks go out as well to all of the parents who traveled the distance, arranged schedules and transported musician-athletes and made our weekend such a success.