Farmington Musicians are Selected for National Award

The National Association of Music Education Selected

550 Students from 49 States and Territories

to Showcase Talents in Orlando, FL, November 27-28

During the 2017-18 school year talented music students across the United States practiced with dedication to audition for their regional and state music honor ensembles.

And now Pooja Swami, Quinn Mahoney and Lillian Yim will join the “best of the best” for the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) 2018 All-Nationals Honor Ensembles on November 25-28, 2018, at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. The Jazz Ensemble and Mixed Choir concerts take place 7:00-8:30pm, November 27, and the Guitar Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra and Concert Band concerts begin at 10:00am, November 28, in the ballroom at Disney Coronado Springs Resort. Our elite musicians from Farmington were amongst only twenty students selected in Connecticut for this honor. Lillian Yim, cellist, will perform with the All-Nationals Honors Orchestra and Quinn Mahoney, soprano and Pooja Swami, alto will perform in the All-Nationals Honors Mixed Choir.

The 2017 NAfME All-National Honor Ensembles Choir performs at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida.

The All-National Honor Ensembles (ANHE) performers represent collaboration and creativity in its highest musical form. The All-National Honor Ensembles consist of a jazz ensemble, mixed choir, guitar ensemble (new this year), symphony orchestra, and concert band. Students were chosen through an audition process. The jazz ensemble will have 20 instrumentalists, the mixed choir 240 vocalists, the guitar ensemble 47 guitarists, the symphony orchestra 122 instrumentalists and the concert band 121 instrumentalists. Eligible students have qualified for their state-level honor ensemble program and competed against top students for a spot in these national honor ensembles.

Selected students will be rehearsing a challenging repertoire in preparation for performing under the baton of five of the most prominent conductors in the United States: Todd Stoll (Jazz Ensemble); Dr. Amanda Quist (Mixed Choir); Dr. Michael Quantz (Guitar Ensemble); Dr. Jean Montès (Symphony Orchestra); and Dennis Glocke (Concert Band). All conductors have received top honors in their field and will spend several days rehearsing with students before the concert.

National Association for Music Education, among the world’s largest arts education organizations, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. NAfME advocates at the local, state, and national levels; provides resources for teachers, parents, and administrators; hosts professional development events; and offers a variety of opportunities for students and teachers. The Association orchestrates success for millions of students nationwide and has supported music educators at all teaching levels for more than a century. With more than 60,000 members, the organization is the national voice of music education in the United States.

Congratulations to our outstanding Farmington musicians, Lillian, Quinn and Pooja! The Farmington Friends of Music awarded each student a scholarship to help defray their travel costs!