Fine Arts News
High School Chorus News
Wesleyan High School choral ensembles swept awards at the Southern Star Music Festival on April 20.
The Wesleyan Chamber Singers, a mixed group of male and female singers, and the treble choir Bel Canto garnered straight Superior ratings from all three judges at the prestigious competition. The scores for the Chamber Singers were the highest of any of the ten choirs entered in the festival for the April 20-21 weekend performances, resulting in the highest award, the Sweepstakes trophy. The judges complimented both groups, particularly on their phrasing, musicality, interpretation, and rhythmic integrity.
The Sweepstakes trophy and straight Superior ratings for both HS groups was a FIRST in the history of the Wesleyan HS choral program.
Middle School Band News!
The Advanced Band made Wesleyan Band history! On Saturday, April 20th, the Advanced Band performed a 20 minute program for 3 judges at Festival Disney. Festival Disney is one of the premier Festivals/Competitions in the country and has included Middle School Bands for 6 years. They competed in the Junior High/Middle School classification. The judges were Mr. Gary Smith, Director of Band Emeritus at the University of Illinois; Dr. Richard Good, Director of Bands at Auburn University; Dr. Alexander Jimenez, Associate Professor of Conducting at Florida State University.
The ensemble earned a 94, 96, and 96 for an overall score 95.3. After their performance, Mr. Gary Smith came up on stage and gave the students a 10 minute clinic. He started the clinic by saying that he did not have any criticism for the group, only suggestions. He simply could not believe that these students were in Middle School and stated that, some High School and College Bands do not play this well. He complemented them on their advanced music and how well they played the selections. I have a link to their performance on the Student drive at Wesleyan. Students, please copy and paste to your desktop so your parents can hear this!
RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE: A First for Wesleyan Middle School
Superior Ratings Festival Disney 2012
Best In ClassTop Scoring Ensemble
Gold Honors Award--- Best overall in MS Band Classification
Shuler Hensley Awards
The Wesleyan Theater Department was nominated for Scenic Design and LIghting Design for Oklahoma in the Shuler Hensley Awards for high school musical productions.
Capitol Art Exhibit
Fiona Allgaier, Amanda Doane, Kaley Hecht, Sophia Strickland, Kristnen Pack, and Savannah Strickland all represented Wesleyan in the Capitol Art Exhibit during the month of February.
"The Capitol Art Exhibit is cosponsored by the Georgia Art Education Association and the Office of the Secretary of State. It is the premier event of Youth Art Month and the largest student [art] exhibit in the state. The purpose of the exhibit is to share with our legislators and the public the exceptional creative ability of Georgia's students."
High School Visual Art Award
Emily Cowart won a silvery key on the national level in the Scholastic Art Competition!
Middle School Chorus News
In the final hours of school before spring break began, the 7
th/8th grade chorus travelled to Lawrenceville First United Methodist Church to sing Sinner Man and Child of God for three judges and to sight-read for one judge (they sight read eight measures of music they had never seen before in 4 parts). I am very pleased to report that they earned two superior (top) ratings and one excellent (2nd) rating for their singing (for an overall superior rating) and a superior (top) rating for their sight reading! This is only the second time in middle school chorus history that the 7th/8th grade chorus has earned an overall superior rating WELL DONE! Some of the judges comments included:
Nice tone
Fine job on interpretation
Good energy on Sinner Man
Great work on style
Such a lovely group; keep up the good work!
Good tuning!
Nice (word) stresses, phrasing and dynamics on both pieces
(Sight reading) - good comprehension of musical notation and establishing tonality; you had a lot of success, but a few errors on pitch accuracy; you have been trained to sing so musically; this group has great espri de corp!
Please congratulateOlivia Larner and Nicholas Montano! These two 8th graders participated in the GMEA All State Chorus, under the direction of Tom Shelton, a master conductor and composer from North Carolina. The singers spent three days in rehearsals and presented six selections (one composed by Mr. Shelton) to a large audience at the Savannah Civic Center. It was a beautiful concert presented by the top singers from all over the state! Well done!
Middle School Band News
The 6
thgrade band performed at the State Performance Evaluation last week and received one superior and three excellent ratings! This is the second time a Wesleyan 6thgrade band has performed at this event in the bands history, and this is the highest level of music they have performed (Level 2 and Level 3 out of a total of 6 levels for band through High School). They were the only 6thgrade band to perform at this event in our district, and they were performing the same level of music as most of the 8thgrade bands in the District. This is a huge accomplishment. They have great band spirit and exhibit musical maturity! The next performance/competition will be on Saturday, March 31stat the Southern Star Music Festival.
Last week, the Advanced Band made history at the State Performance Evaluation by scoring straight Superior Ratings from the judges. The event was historic in the Wesleyan Band program because they chose to perform Level 3 and Level 4 music and a 23 minute program (the highest level in band music is Level 6-performed by HS bands). They have never attempted to be judged on this level of music. Dr. C is thrilled with the results and very proud of the Advanced Band. This is a hard working group! The next performance/competition will be at Festival Disney in April.
GO BAND!
Carrie Ciccotello (class of 2014) was selected to be a member of theEmory Youth Symphony Orchestra. She was also selected as"concert master" for the GISA All-Select Orchestra.
Congratulations to Olivia Larner and Nicholas Montano, 8thgraders who passed the second round of All State Chorus auditions. They have distinguished themselves amongst the top 10% of singers in Georgia and will participate in the GMEA All State Chorus in February in Savannah, Georgia.
Congratulations to the Middle School Chorus who sang the National Anthem at the Gwinnett Gladiators game on Friday, January 6th. Over 125 Wesleyan singers and family members enjoyed the game together following the singing. Thank you to Wesleyan chaperones Franklin Pridgen, Heidi Lloyd, James Moleta, Chad Simmons, and Laura Siron. In addition, the students raised over $600 through ticket sales and are featured on the Gwinnett Gladiator webpage:http://www.gwinnettgladiators.com/site/news/article.asp?art=2218. Way to go Middle School Chorus!
Ethan Moon(6th grade), Abby Yang(6th grade), Katie Newman(7th grade), Jessie Roberts(7th grade), and Amenda Kang(7th grade)auditioned for All-State Band. In order to audition, these students were required to make a high score on their district audition. All of them will be attending District Band in March. Congratulations!
Jonathan Kim's painting, "Viola",was selected as the second place winner in the SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design) Junior Challenge: 2-D competition
Brooke Walton's painting of the foyer in the Fine Arts buildingreceived an Honorable Mention in the SCAD Challenge: 2-D competition as well.
The SCAD Challenge this year included students from 40 states and 20 countries for a total of over 400 entries. This is quite an accomplishment for Brooke and Jonathan.
Julie Rodriguez
is a finalist in the "SCAD Photo Challenge" photography competition. Winners of the challenge could receive up to a $3000 scholarship!
Cassie Pilgrim auditioned for the Atlanta Youth Symphony and was chosen for first-chair oboe! She was also the only freshman chosen for the oboe section. The Atlanta Youth Symphony is the most prestigious orchestra a high school student can be a part of in Atlanta.
Henry Pilgrim and Duncan Albert both made it into the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony. Duncan was also selected as the only tuba player for the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra!