On Saturday, January 14th, thirteen of our student musicians performed in the CMEA Northern Connecticut Regional Music Festival at New Britain High School. The students rehearsed for a day and a half and enjoyed a fulfilling musical experience alongside other talented musicians coming from various schools in the region.

Among the eighteen Kent students who auditioned for the festival, only thirteen could be picked: seven in the orchestra, four in the concert band, and two in the choir. Each dedicated his or her time in prior weeks to perform before the judges, who scored them on a solo piece, a scale, and a short sight-reading piece. Their scores were based upon the accuracy of their pitch and rhythm as well as their interpretation of the piece.

The day before the festival, the band conductor, Dr. Matthew Westgate, expressed his excitement at the prospect of having so many young talents come together. The selected musicians arrived at New Britain High School at three in the afternoon on Friday and were separated into different rehearsal rooms with prestigious conductors. After about five hours of rehearsal, students came back to Kent.

On Saturday, they left at 7:30 in the morning and made their way back to New Britain High School. After six more hours of rehearsal, the students finally stepped on the stage. The Jazz band performed first, followed by the choir, which sang songs ranging from the baroque period to a modern aboriginal Australian piece.

Following the choir performance, the orchestra played three pieces including “Swan Lake” by Tchaikovsky. Finally, the band played three pieces: “Esprit de corps” by Robert Jager, “An American Elegy” by Frank Ticheli, and “Three Gipsy Dances” by Jan Van Der Roost.

“I learned a lot from all the people there,” explained Jessica Zong ’17, who sang in the choir. “It was a very enriching experience to be able to work with other passionate and dedicated musicians for two days and produce something beautiful and unforgettable.”