On Saturday, January 16^th, Kent musicians performed at the Northern Connecticut Music Festival.

This year, fifteen out of the twenty-three students who auditioned were selected for the festival: five students in the orchestra, five in concert band, and five in the choir. “For a school our size, that is excellent,” said Mrs. Hobbs, director of the Kent School Orchestra.

Tryouts for the regional music festival began in November. The rigorous process involved an assigned solo piece, scales, and a sight-reading piece. Each musician was judged and given a score, an indication of his or her standing among fellow musicians.

For those who were selected, rehearsals for the final performance began on Friday, January 15^th, and lasted nearly 8 hours. The musicians returned Saturday morning for a final rehearsal before the concert, which took place at 5 o’clock the very same day.

Mr. Hunt, who attended the concert to watch his “present students, former students, and an advisee” perform, enjoyed the variety of genres presented during the two-hour-performance. “The professional conductors made everything feel very efficient and polished, despite the groups only having nine hours to learn and perfect the pieces over their two days of practice,” he said.

John LePino ’17, who played the French horn in the festival the previous year as well as this year, “thought [the concert] was a lot more fun [this year].” The opportunity to perform with some of the top conductors and musicians in the area is certainly a fulfilling experience for a young musician. John noted that he “connected with some old friends and played some good music” at the festival.

“I think that our students do so many things away from the school that we just don’t see them. We miss so much,” remarked Mr. Hunt. Although many students and faculty members did miss the chance to watch talented Kent musicians perform at the festival, there still are opportunities to see the music program in action. The Chamber Choir will be performing on Friday, April 22^nd, and the annual spring concert will take place a week later on April 29^th. These performances are not ones to miss!