Marcellus Central School District 2011 Junior High All-County Music Festival

The talents of student musicians from more than eighteen Central New York school districts were on display as the Marcellus Central School District hosted the Onondaga County Music Educators Association 2011 Junior High All-County Music Festival on January 29th in the Groeling Auditorium at Marcellus Senior High School. More than 300 of the top junior high school orchestra, band, and chorus students participated in rehearsals on January 28th and 29th before performing in concert on Saturday, January 29th at 3:00 PM in the newly renovated Groeling Auditorium. The student musicians earned the chance to participate through competitive auditions that were held in December of 2010. Carmen Costa, Festival Chairperson, speaking in the Syracuse Post Standard shared that, “Hundreds of students auditioned to be selected as a member of one of the three groups. It’s a big honor to even be selected because it is highly competitive. They are the cream of the crop of the music students in Onondaga County.” Festival organizers for the event included:
· Festival Chairperson – Carmen Costa, Jr./Marcellus Central School District
· Orchestra Manager – Amy Cirmo/ Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District
· Chorus Managers – Kristin Peenstra and Brian Ackles/Marcellus Central School District
· Band Managers – Audrey Turner and Michael Cirmo/Marcellus Central School District
Guest conductors for the festival event included Richard F. Regan/Monroe Woodbury Schools – All-County Orchestra; Paul Chapin/Princeton Schools and Janice Anderson-Chapin/West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South – All-County Chorus; and Justin Mertz/Syracuse University – All-County Band. The All-County Junior High Music Festival Program included:

All-County Orchestra:
“March from Carmen” by Georges Bizet/Charles Woodhouse
“Five Courtly Dances from Glorian” by Benjamin Britten/David Stone
“Overture to Nabucco” by Giuseppe Verdi/Sandra Dackow

All-County Chorus:
“Corner of the Sky from Pippen” by Stephen Schwartz/JohnCacavas
“Ave Vernum Corpus” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Thomas Main
“Neighbor Chorus from La Jolie Parfumeuse” by Jacques Offenbach/Jan Meyerowitz
“Hold Me, Rock Me” by Brian Tate
“Hope for Resolution” by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory

All-County Band:
“Valdres” by Johannes Hanssen/arr. Jim Curnow
“Sea Songs” by Ralph Vaghan-Williams
“Ye Banks and Braes O’Bonnie Doon” by Percy Grainger
“The Great Locomotive Chase” by Robert W. Smith

The Junior High All-County Music Festival not only provides the opportunity for magical musical moments but also the opportunity for young musicians to expand their horizons, challenge their talents, and create musical connections that can last a lifetime. As Audrey Turner, Marcellus Junior High School Band Director expressed it, “I tell my kids to enjoy the festival, go out and make new friends. You will be playing music with the people you meet throughout high school.” The following Marcellus Central School District student musicians were honored with selection to the Junior High All-County Music Festival:
Orchestra: Roxana Novak/Trumpet
Noelle Cotter/Trumpet
Mike Abbott/Timpani
Chorus: Adina Martin
Rebecca Martin
Andrew Murphy
Michael Clark
Matt Gooden
Band: Mary Morocco/Flute
Cecil Nelson/Bassoon
Keith Parlin/Bassoon
Rachel Ceparski/Clarinet II
Jason Gerbsch/Bass Clarinet
Geoffrey Golick/Baritone Saxophone
Chris Torell/Trumpet I
Evan Turner/Trumpet II
Jeff Beyel/Trombone II
Trevor Costa/Trumpet III
Connor Lundrigan/Trombone III
Dylan Felty/Euphonium