Radnor School District Student Musicians Rack Up Awards

RANDOR TOWNSHIP, PA – Student musicians in the Radnor Township School District earned some great recognition recently, with some of the districts band and several of its students winning awards.

The district said the Radnor High School Concert Band, Jazz Band, Jazz Ensemble, and Indoor Guard, as well as junior Alexandra "Sasha" He and sophomore Ryan Oliver, won awards and advanced in their competitions.

The Concert Band, Jazz Band and Indoor Guard traveled to Boston, Massachusetts for the school's annual Band Trip from April 6 to April 10.

The student-musicians competed in the Festivals of Music at Duxbury Performing Arts Center on April 9 and attended an awards ceremony on April 10.

The Concert Band placed first in their category with a rating of Excellent, the district said.

The group received a score of 88, the highest they have ever received at a national event. The Wind Ensemble received a rating of Superior, finishing third in a highly competitive bracket.

The Indoor Guard and Jazz Band both finished first with ratings of Superior. Alex Paino received a solo award for his performance on Vibes. The entire group was awarded the Esprit de Corps Award.

"For the directors, [the Esprit de Corps Award] is our most valued trophy," band director Daniel Drew said.

"The award recognizes the participating organization that displays an exemplary attitude of positive behaviors throughout the festival weekend," indoor guard director Maria Drew said. "Personal integrity, quality, character values, a desire for excellence and a spirit of cooperation serve as the cornerstone qualities of the Esprit de Corp award."

Additionally, the Radnor High School Honors Jazz Ensemble won their first Cavalcade of Bands Division Championship at Central Bucks West High School on April 14.

The Cavalcade of Bands is a nonprofit organization composed of more than 100 member schools coming together to compete on the interscholastic level. The overall champion is determined by the highest rating achieved in each show and division.

The RHS Honors Jazz Ensemble received a rating of Superior in the Stan Kenton Division to earn the designation of Overall Champion. The group also received awards for Best Section (Trumpets) and Best Soloists for Alex Paino (Vibes) and Aaron Tachau (Trumpet). Jason Hurle received Honorable Mention (Trombone).

The RHS Honors Jazz Ensemble rehearses and performs traditional and contemporary big band music. Members are selected by audition in October and the ensemble meets on Monday and Wednesday evenings during the school year. They compete in the Calvalcade of Bands circuit and perform throughout the community.

The RHS Honors Jazz Ensemble is directed by Daniel Drew.

He and Oliver qualified for the National Association for Music Education's (NAfME) All-National Honor Ensembles following auditions at the district, regional and state level.

He and Oliver will head to Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida in November 2018 to play cello in the All-National Symphony Orchestra and sing in the All-National Mixed Choir, respectively.

He and Oliver are two of 17 Radnor High School student-musicians selected by audition to various Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) Honor Festivals earlier this year, according to the district.

Priya Ganesh, Jason Hurle, Seongeun Kim, David Macpherson, Glenn Seibel and Sara Takenaka participated in the District 12 Band Festival from January 11-13 at Marple Newtown High School.

Eric Chang, Gabriel Escobar and Amia Korman joined Ryan at the District 12 Chorus Festival from January 25-27 at Conestoga High School.

Adrienne Cheung, George Hu, Helen Hu, Kallam Kara-Pabani, Yuma Matusoka and Mitchell Taylor joined Sasha at the District 12 Orchestra Festival from February 9-10 at Kennett High School.

During auditions for selection to the PMEA District Festivals, students had to demonstrate excellence in major and chromatic scales, as well as solo performance, or choral selections, in order to earn the right to participate at the district festivals.

Ganesh, Seibel and Kim advanced to the Region 6 Band Festival; Escobar, Korman and Oliver to the Regional Chorus Festival; and He, Hu and Kara-Pabani to the Region 6 Orchestra Festival. Following their performances at the regional level, Kim, Olive and He qualified for the All-State Festival, with Oliver and He advancing to nationals.

Pictured above are from left to right are Emma von Abele, Grace Twohig, Lynn Yang, Sydney Brumfield and Alex Paino

Images via Radnor Township School District