Northwestern Middle School Orchestra Earns Prestigious Award

MILTON, GA -- The Northwestern Middle School Orchestra, under the direction of Evelyn Champion, has earned the 2017 Georgia Music Educators Association Exemplary Performance Award. Northwestern is the first middle school orchestra program in Fulton County Schools to earn this prestigious distinction, and one of only four other middle school orchestra programs in Georgia to earn the award since it started in 2008.

Principal Charles Chester announced the award at the Northwestern Spring Concert this past May, and GMEA Past-President Frank Folds will attend the Orchestra Fall Concert in October to officially present the students and Champion with their award.

In order to earn this award, numerous Northwestern Orchestra students participated in All State Orchestra and District Honor Orchestra. Additionally, the Orchestra earned all superior ratings from a panel of adjudicators at Large Group Performance Evaluation and Solo and Ensemble Performance Evaluation.

Since Champion’s arrival at Northwestern in the Fall of 2016, the Northwestern Orchestra has grown significantly, participated in many enrichment performances in the school and community, and taken field trips to the Atlanta Symphony, the Atlanta Opera, and even an overnight performance trip to Disney World.

In Orchestra, students learn violin, viola, cello, or bass starting in sixth grade as beginners, play throughout middle school, and go on to perform in the Milton High School or Cambridge High School Orchestras.

Registration is now open for sixth grade orchestra at Northwestern. Contact Champion at ChampionE@FultonSchools.org for more information.

Images via Northwestern Middle School