Farmington students earn high ratings at Music Festival

Several Farmington band members earned superior ratings recently at the Missouri State High School Activities Association Music Festival in Columbia.

More than 4,400 individual and group performances from 388 schools competed April 27-29 in the Fine Arts Building and Memorial Union at University of Missouri-Columbia.

The 55th annual evaluative festival featured five enrollment classifications for grades 9-12. Students performed before some of the nation’s top music adjudicators who provided ratings and critiqued the student’s musical abilities. Participants qualified for the festival by earning a &#8220I” rating at their respective district-level festival.

Farmington students who earned a superior &#8220I” rating at the festival included: Claire Huck, bassoon solo; Kelsie Wilkins, trumpet solo; Claire Huck, vocal solo; Maddy Pessin, vocal solo; Brooke Molloy, vocal solo; and Kaitlyn Doughty, vocal solo.

Superior ratings also went to the following groups: Low Brass Quartet – Justin Arnold, Tad Derickson, Nick Horn, Aaron Roberts; Saxophone Quintet – Ashley Berry, Tyler Kinder, Lauren Lee, Bradley Light, Andrew Monnig; Woodwind Quintet – Kate Bauche, Brian Derickson, Claire Huck, Cayla Johnson; Clarinet Quartet – Shelby Mercer, Mandy Roberts, Ryan Miller, Alicia Shipman; Percussion Ensemble #1 – Tim Counts, Kirsten Patterson, Bethany Price, Corey Sessoms, Ben Wright; Girls Double Quartet – Kate Bauche, Claire Huck, Cayla Johnson, Lacey Kelley, Molly Lustick, Amanda Medlock, Brooke Molloy, Maddy Pessin; and Madrigal – Kate Bauche, Collin Berry, Brian Gallagher, Claire Huck, Kelsey Kocher, Brooke Molloy, Matt Rhodes, Kaleb Sutherland.

Farmington students earning an excellent &#8220II” rating included: Cayla Johnson, flute solo; Mandy Roberts, clarinet solo; Aaron Roberts, euphonium solo; Julia Schmidt, tenor sax solo; Katie Grechus, vocal solo; and Cayla Johnson, vocal solo.

Other groups that earned an excellent rating were: Clarinet Trio – Amanda Callahan, Shelby Mercer, Whitney Watson; Percussion Ensemble – Brandt Clemons, Geoff Combs, Kayla Harp, Justin Ivester, Michael Strobl; Girls Double Quartet – Lindsey Barton, Tabitha Dickey, Katie Grechus, Becky Hall, Leiren Jarvis, Anne Mayfield, Claire Minnis, Ashley Rhodes; Madrigal – Cayla Johnson, Lacey Kelley, Molly Lustick, Ryan Miller, Maddy Pessin, Kevin Tabor, Andrew Towler, Ben Wright; Boys Quartet – Ryan Miller, Matt Rhodes, Kaleb Sutherland and Andrew Towler.

Farmington students who recieved a good &#8220III” rating included: Ashley Berry, tenor sax solo; Flute Quartet – Lynnsey Cook, Jamie Hines, Cayla Johnson, Angeline Turner; Mixed Clarinet Quartet – Ashley Berry, Amanda Callahan, Sasha Murphy and Whitney Watson.

The band offers special recognition to pianists Sue Bauche and Lavonne Limbaugh for accompanying student soloists. Limbaugh has accompanied for Farmington High School for over twenty-five years.

The final two concerts for these students are the Spring Band Concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, and the Spring Choral Concert at 7 p.m. May 18. Both performances will be held at the Centene Performing Arts Center in Farmington. Sue Bauche is the choir director at Farmington High School. Band directors are Kurt Bauche and Linda Huck.