PORT ANGELES — The Northwinds Homeschool Band has earned two Gold Awards and a Silver Award at the Heritage Music Festival at Fullerton College in California.
The 44 students who traveled to the festival performed as the Northwinds Advanced Band, the Northwinds Jazz Band and the Northwinds Homeschool Band.
The advanced and jazz bands earned gold-level awards for their performances at the festival, which was held March 28-29.
Performances are judged and awarded one of five levels of performance quality, with gold and silver as the top levels.
Bands are then ranked against other schools performing at the event.
The full band, made up of students in homeschool programs at both the middle- and high-school level, earned a Silver Award.
“I was proud of their performance. The competition is designed for the high-school level,” said Dan Tutton, band director.
The band also won the Spirit Award, which is given to the band that best represents its community.
The Spirit Award was selected by judges’ review and by Disneyland Resort staff who worked with the group of students, Tutton said.
Two students earned solo awards.
Brothers David and Jacob Kennedy each earned awards for solo trombone performances with the jazz band during the festival.
Heritage Music Festivals are held in major cities across the U.S. and Canada, providing middle and high school music students a chance to travel, visit famous sites and compete against schools from across the two countries.
While in Southern California, the Northwinds Band visited and performed at Disneyland.
At Disneyland, the group took part in a studio recording, during which they played Disney movie soundtracks, Tutton said.
The band’s recordings were matched with the movie scenes corresponding to the music, and students received a copy of their performance as part of the movies, he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
