Strike up the Band!
Wilton High School‘s music department received stunning results at this past weekend’s Music Adjudication trip at the College Of Staten Island Center Of Performing Arts, scoring eight gold (superior) and two silver (excellent) medals during the performances on Friday, April 1.
There were 281 students and 23 parent chaperones who went on the two-day trip, leaving at 5:30 a.m. on Friday morning. They were led by the music department directors—Frank “Chip” Gawle, John Rhodes, Betsey DeGroff and Marty Meade—as well as Dr. Richard Sanzo, WHS associate principal.
Results were announced on Saturday morning in New York City at the Hard Rock Cafe. Judged against a national standard, the achievements included:
- Wind Ensemble: Gold
- Concert Band: Gold (for the first time, ever)
- Concert Orchestra: Gold
- Select Orchestra: Silver
- Jazz I: Gold
- Jazz II: Silver
- Concert Choir: Gold
- Madrigals: Gold
- Chamber Singers: Gold
- Bottom Line: Gold
- Soloist Awards: Tessa Markham (Concert Band), Elliot Connors (Jazz), Tristan Clark (Strings), Griffin King and Trevor Brown TIE (Vocalist)
For Chip Gawle, who may have just gone on his last music adjudication trip before retiring after this school year, the results were exceedingly sweet.
“It was awesome! We had the same three judges for all 10 groups and they saw the strength of our whole program. They all commented on it!” he said, noting that the students were judged against a standard and not other schools.
Sam Gumins, one of the parent chaperones who helped organize the trip, noted that there were several tributes to Gawle.
Gumins also said there was a fun second half of the trip planned for the kids, and much merriment (and some comedy of errors) along the way. In addition to a Friday night dinner cruise past nighttime views of the Statue of Liberty, (and an overnight bathroom flood at the hotel), the kids were able to enjoy a visit to the Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park. Even with forecasts of rain, the weather was respectful and kept sunny skies while the park was “90-percent empty,” according to Gumins.
Many thanks to Rich Sanzo, Mae Tighe and Anna McDonald for pictures.