PORT ANGELES — Top North Olympic Peninsula musicians were selected Saturday to perform in a state competition.
Eighteen individual singers and musicians and 12 instrumental and vocal ensembles were chosen.
More than 500 student musicians from four high schools and three middle schools from the region performed at Port Angeles High School during the 2014 North Olympic Music Educators Solo and Ensemble Festival.
The students will represent their schools and the Peninsula at Central Washington University in Ellensburg on April 25-26.
They will compete in the Washington Music Educators Association/Washington Interscholastic Activities Association State Solo and Ensemble Contest.
Saturday’s competition included more than 160 individual performances, said Doug Gailey, festival organizer and director of the Port Angeles High bands.
“I think it was a very good year,” Gailey said.
Middle and high school student performances were graded in their categories as superior, excellent or good and were critiqued to help students improve their future performances.
“The kids who performed did extremely well,” Gailey said.
Brass instrumentalists
While there were more students participating in the festival than in 2013, he said, there was a lack of representation from brass instrumentalists from each of the four high schools: Port Angeles, Sequim, Port Townsend and Chimacum.
“As a music educator, I’d like to see more entries in the brass room,” he said.
At the high school level, the festival is a regional competition for student musicians to qualify for the state-level competition.
The highest-scoring superior performance from each category advanced to the state contest, where he or she will compete against the other 21 regional winners in 29 solo and 14 ensemble categories.
Small ensembles compete as duos, trios and quartets, while large ensembles can include up to 16 performers.
Peninsula students attending the competition are listed by their schools.
Port Angeles High
Port Angeles will send 12 soloists and 11 ensembles to the state competition.
Solists are Natalie Tagg, flute-piccolo; Jeffrey Mordecai-Smith, clarinet; Kyle Sholinder, alto saxophone; Hannah Howell, trombone; Cole Urnes, piano; Leah Haworth, viola; Kate Haworth, cello; Michael Helwick, string bass; Sam Stevenson, mallets; Trilby Bowe, alto vocal; John Doster, baritone vocal; and Jack Simpson for bass vocal.
Large ensembles are the PA Brass Choir; PAHS Chamber Orchestra; Portrait of Bill, percussion ensemble; Vocal Unlimited Too, mixed vocal ensemble; and the Johnny Said No women’s vocal ensemble.
Small ensembles are the Katherynn and Natalie Flute Duet; The Woodwind Conglomerate; PA Mallet Trio; Brackett/Doster Duet, vocal; Pederson/Schick Duet, vocal; and the Shindler Quartet, string.
Sequim High
Sequim will be represented by McKayla Neale, soprano vocalist; Patrick McCarter, tenor vocalist; and the Sequim Men’s Ensemble, a large vocal ensemble.
Port Townsend High
Violinist Ella Becker qualified to go to state competition to represent Port Townsend High.
Chimacum High
Three Chimacum percussion soloists qualified for state competition: Forrest Brennan on snare drum, Jack Meissner on multiple percussion and Gabe Shephard on timpani.
_______
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
