The following article was contributed by the Wilton High School music boosters.
WHS Choir Student Selected for All National Choir
Wilton High School senior Lucy Beach was recently selected to participate in the National Association for Music Education All-National Honor Ensembles, which took place on Nov. 3-6 in Maryland. She joined a mixed choir of 240 students, part of a total of 543 young musicians who were selected as “the most musically accomplished high school students in the United States.”
The road to All-Nationals began in November of 2021 when Beach auditioned and was selected for Connecticut’s Western Regional Choir. Following that she was eligible to audition for All-States, which she attended last April along with several WHS music students. Beach then auditioned for All-Nationals and was notified of her success over the summer.
The four-day program featured many hours of intense rehearsals and opportunities to connect with other musicians and educators from across the US, and culminated in two concerts where the talented students were able to demonstrate their work.
The repertoire was varied and included pieces such as “Come Sweet Death” by J.S Bach, “TaReKiTa” by Renna Esmail, and “Way Over in Beulah Land” by Stacy Gibbs.
This November, WHS music students will once again have the opportunity to audition for Western Regional Ensembles, with the successful auditionees taking part in rehearsals and performances in Greenwich in January 2023.
WHS Marching Band Completes Fall Competition Season at MetLife Stadium
Led by drum majors Reina Calafell and Joy Ren, the Wilton High School Marching Band participated in its sixth and final competition of the 2022 marching season on Nov. 5 at MetLife Stadium in Rutherford, NJ. Over 50 bands were at the US Bands National Championships from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carollina.
The bands were judged and scored on their musical and visual performances on the field. Performing their program “La Rosa,” WHS’s musicians moved from a ranking of ‘Excellent’ to ‘Outstanding,’ breaking a score of 80.
Soloists during the competition included Thomas Stofega on trombone and Allison Eidt on trumpet.
All of the band students have been working towards this achievement since summer, participating in their late August band camp, band class during the day, weekly marching rehearsals, and sectionals. The boosters gave special recognition to band director Troy Williams, assistant band director Niall Reynolds, brass instructor Jonathan Garcia, and color guard instructor Cheryl Watson for their leadership and support of the students in the program.
The next combined performance of the WHS music groups (band, orchestra and chorus) will be at the Winter Concert at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at the Clune Auditorium (395 Danbury Rd.).
Follow the Music Boosters’ Wilton Music Matters Facebook page for more music news from Wilton schools.
Congratulations, Lucy Beach … so proud of you and your continued growth and progress over the years. What are your plans for next year and beyond? Let me know if I can help in any way. Cheers and hugs.