State High Music Shines in the Big Apple
While on the music adjudication trip in New York City, senior Anna Curtis and junior Mary Ellen Schomer take photos of the World Trade Center. The music ensembles from State High won the majority of their respective categories and garnered a total of 17 trophies. “This was my first time in New York City and when I saw the city line when we first drove in it was really exhilarating,” Schomer said.
May 2, 2019
From April 11th to the 13th, students from State High’s top music ensembles traveled to New York City for their annual adjudication trip. 128 musicians from Master Singers, OMA, Cecilian Singers, String Orchestra, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, and Rock Ensemble competed in the WorldStrides New York Heritage Festival.
On Thursday, April 11th, students departed from State High at the beginning of the school day and arrived in New York in the afternoon with free time to explore Lower Manhattan. The next day, they had time to explore Central Park area before visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the afternoon. In the evening, students attended the Metropolitan Opera for a performance of Don Giovanni. “[I] took lots of pretty pictures of the scenery and visited some cool memorials, so it was a great time. We got to experience an opera for the first time, so that was really exciting,” junior Mary Ellen Schomer, a member of Master Singers, said.
The adjudication portion of the trip occurred on Saturday, and the students spent the whole day at the historic Riverside Church in upper Manhattan. Every ensemble performed three pieces in front of the judges, with the exception of String Orchestra, which only performed two. The judges gave critiques and scoring, as well as hosted a mini-clinic on stage. State High’s ensembles competed against ensembles from ten other schools from across North America. In total, State High won 17 different trophies. Master Singers, Cecilian Singers, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, and Rock ensemble achieved gold ratings and won their respective categories, and OMA and String Orchestra achieved silver ratings and came in second in their respective categories. Master Singers also won Best Overall Choir and Symphonic Band won Best Overall Band. The State High music program as a whole won the award for Best Music Program. Seniors Gabe Herrera and Sean Cunningham won Maestro Awards for their solos in Jazz Band and Rock Ensemble, respectively. “We have a long, rich tradition of excellence in performances and we continued that this year,” State High band director Paul Leskowicz said.
