District 99 Musicians Earn 'Superior' and 'Excellent' Ratings in Contest

Submitted by Community High School District 99.

Over 120 students from North High and South High School in Downers Grove participated in the Illinois High School Association State Solo and Ensemble Contest on March 7, 2015. Students from both the bands and the orchestras participated in this event; North High choral students also participated.

Over 100 students earned Division I ratings of “superior.” A Division I score is categorized as “Asuperior performance – outstanding in nearly every detail.” In addition, nearly 30 students earned a Division II rating of “outstanding.” A Division II score is categorized as “An excellent performance – only minor defects.”

Students prepare solos and ensembles and play for an expert adjudicator, receiving both a score and a rating, and feedback for improvement. Additionally, students performing solos must play scales from memory, demonstrating technical mastery on their instruments outside of their prepared solo work.

Judges awarded several students with perfect scores, including Lauren Birkmeier, Daniel Brethauer, Jen Casey, Tim Edwards, Todd Griffin, Hannah Kutchek, and Kadance Taba (from North High) and Sam Tedeschi and Amy Wang (South High).

Several students also earned a citation from the IHSA called “Best in Room.” These students included North High’s Kevin Atwater, Seth Collins, Keara Corbett, Tim Edwards, Bryan Monk, Matt Monk and Abby Pfeiffer and South High’s Amy Wang. This is a recognition given by the judge for having the most superior performance in the room for that day.

“Regardless of rating or score, we are proud of every student for choosing to pursue musical growth through this process,” says Fine Arts Department Chairman Glenn Williams. “The individual growth that occurs through studying and performing chamber music is substantial.”

“Preparing for a solo and ensemble contest is a great opportunity for our students to express their individualism as soloists and to develop team-work skills with small ensembles,” says Brayer Teague, Fine Arts Department Chair at North High. “We’re very proud of all our students who entered the state contest this year. They did a terrific job representing North High with their musicianship.”

North High School in Downers Grove

The following North High Music Events received a “Division I—Superior” rating.

Kevin Atwater – Clarinet – BEST OF DAY

Belle Banke – Percussion Ensemble

Jack Barkei – String Ensemble (2)

Lauren Birkmeier – Euphonium – Perfect score

Alyse Bondarowicz – Flute (1) & Saxophone Ensemble (1)

Daniel Brethauer – Trombone – Perfect score

Allie Casey – Flute

Jen Casey – Euphonium – Perfect score

Elise Cismesia – Female Voice

Seth Collins – String Ensemble – BEST OF DAY

Patrick Connery – Tuba Ensemble

Keara Corbett – Female Voice – BEST OF DAY

Ben Cortez – Trumpet

Evan Culligan – Alto Saxophone (1) & Saxophone Ensemble (1)

Maria D’Ambrose – Oboe

Katie Donnelly – Alto Saxophone

Tim Edwards – Cello – Perfect score / BEST OF DAY (1) & String Ensemble (1)

Alison Elgass – Bass Clarinet

Jamie Gamonez – Female Voice

Robert Gartlan – Male Voice

Ben Goedert – Male Voice

Todd Griffin – Tuba – Perfect score (1) & Tuba Ensemble (1)

Emily Heppner – Violin

Elizabeth Heyler – Flute

Megan Hung – Clarinet

Tatiana Jordan – Violin (1) & String Ensemble (2)

Allison Kirkegaard – Female Voice (1) & Treble Ensemble (1)

Ryan Knezevich – Trombone

Eirene Kowal – Marimba

Cecilia Kowara – Female Voice

Hannah Kutchek – Flute – Perfect score

Jack Langan – Male Voice

Julija Lemenaite – Violin

Marissa Leo – Treble Ensemble

Monica Lim – String Ensemble (2)

Emily Little – Trombone

Kaylee McCarthy – Trombone

Matt McCoy – Saxophone Ensemble

Anthony McMahon – Saxophone Ensemble

Adam Mills – Trombone

Bryan Monk – Violin (1) & String Ensemble (1) – BEST OF DAY

Matt Monk – Cello (1) & String Ensemble (2) – BEST OF DAY

Liam Morgan – Cello

Lauren O’Neil – Violin

Nick Pantazopoulos – String Ensemble

Jeremy Pike – French Horn

Abby Pfeiffer – String Ensemble – BEST OF DAY

Kaleb Pfotenhauer – String Ensemble

Brendan Quealy – Male Voice

Nate Rapach – Trumpet

Caleb Schmurr – Trombone

Allie Sheetz – Flute

Amelia Smerz – Cello

Kadance Taba – Tuba (1) – Perfect score & Tuba Ensemble (1)

Jennifer Vetrone – Trumpet

Emily Wilson – Percussion Ensemble

Bre Yano – Flute

Fred Zimmerman – Male Voice

The following North High Music Events received a “Division II—Excellent” rating.

David Atwater – Horn Ensemble

Jack Barkei – Viola

Cassandra Broholm – Horn Ensemble

Arianna Calleja – Trumpet

Fiona Cismesia – Violin

Becky Donnelly – Flute

Georgia Gregory – Horn Ensemble

Gavin Harker – Trumpet

Beth Jensen – String Ensemble

Tatiana Jordan – Female Voice

Fiona Kelly – Violin

Gina Kowalewicz – Flute

Marissa Leo – Female Voice

Madi Lynch – Violin (1) & String Ensemble (1)

Elizabeth McNamara – Female Voice

Maggie Nevrly – Viola

Nick Pantazopoulos – Violin

Kaleb Pfotenhauer – Violin

Chandana Sooranahalli – String Ensemble

Samantha Young – Cello

South High School in Downers Grove

The following South High Music Events received a “Division I—Superior” rating.

Hayley Beube - Violin solo

Hayley Beube, Helena Beikircher, Chloe Lapen, Allison Williams - String quartet

Helena Beikircher - Violin solo

Allie Brandt - Clarinet

Allie Brandt and Hailey Rodden - Woodwind duet

Jake Burrows, Gillian Rustik, Paul Kozak, Adam Rosiginal - Brass quartet

Nicolette Cheaure - Viola solo

Seth Collins - Violin solo

Meghan Diddia - Piano solo

Brooke Drzweicki and Ashley Seery - Woodwind duet

Kevin Fera - Trumpet

Samantha Gaspari - Flute solo

Isabelle Genin - Violin solo

Kevin Hux - Trombone solo

Brianna Imgruet - Trumpet solo

Bella Kelly - Violin solo

Matt Laczynski - Trombone solo

Tiffany Leung - Piano solo

Bridget Moroney and Julia Poska - Clarinet duet

Bridget Moroney - Clarinet solo

Nithin Nathan - Violin solo

Brooke Nuccio - Flute solo

Brooke Nuccio, Eileen Walsh-Rock, Susan Zhou, Lauren Swain, Kyla Swain - Woodwind quintet

Julia Poska - Clarinet solo

Liz Prazak and Erik Seelander - Trumpet duet

Hailey Rodden - Oboe solo

Joseph Shen - Flute solo

Bobby Steiner - Trombone solo

Kyla Swain - Horn solo

Lauren Swain - Bassoon solo

Sam Tedeschi - Tuba solo - Perfect score

Sam Tedeschi, Paul Gurnic, Brianna Imgruet, Andrew Sullivan-Boorman, Adam Zlotnicki - Brass quintet

Olivia Tyrrell and Emily White - Alto Saxophone duet

Amy Wang - Flute solo - Perfect score/”Best in Room”

Eileen Walsh-Rock - Oboe solo

Allison Williams - Cello solo

The following South High Music Events received a “Division II—Excellent” rating.

Nikil Chari - Violin solo

Isaiah Durrani - Violin solo

Isabelle Genin and Lindsay Tom - Violin duet

Chloe Lapen - Violin solo

Kristina Mucha - Clarinet solo

Brian Piller - Alto Saxophone solo

Peter Radakovic - Euphonium solo

Chandana Sooranahalli - Violin solo

Lindsay Tom - Violin solo