Tuesday, March 23, 2010

WLA Hosts Flyway WSMA Choir Concert Festival

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

WSMA Concert Festival (rules) is to large musical groups as WSMA Solo Ensemble Festival is to small musical groups.  Choirs (or bands) are judged by two or three judges assigned by the WSMA state office.  Schools who are members of WSMA must have at least one large group (choir or band) perform in a concert festival at least once every two years to remain eligible to send their kids to a Solo Ensemble festival.  So the Concert Festival is the key that unlocks the door to not only Solo Ensemble, but also to most student's musical performance education.

All the schools who participated in this year's Flyway District Concert Festival were very advanced choirs, all having prepared Class A literature (except for the two middle school choirs, who performed Middle School level literature) and all receiving a first rating.

How can every choir get a first?  Choirs compete against themselves and are scored in seven categories: tone, intonation, choral blend, diction, interpretation, technique, and presentation.  The best score you can get in each category is 1, the worst is 8.  So the best score a choir can get is a 7 (1's in all seven categories), the worst is a 56.  The range of points for a I is 7-17, II is 17.5-31, III is 31.5-45, IV is 45.5-56.  We had two judges, so their two scores were added together, divided by 2 to get the average, and that was a choir's final score.

8:00 AM WLA Traveling Choir I (8+12/2=10)

  • Psalm 91, J. Scott Brubacher
  • Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord, Undine S. Moore
  • Lux Aurumque, Eric Whitacre 1000A211

8:30 AM Mayville HS Treble Choir I (10+15/2=12.5)

  • Glorificamus Te, Eugene Butler 1010A412
  • And So It Goes, Billy Joel, arr. Kirby Shaw
  • Joshua Fit the Battle, Charity

9:00 AM Faith Lutheran Youth Praise I (14+19/2=16.5)

  • Alleluia Canon, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Sanctus, Franz Schubert 1030MS764
  • Tomb is Empty, Williams, Page

9:30 AM Mayville HS Mens Choir I (13+15/2=14)
  • Fergus n’ Molly, Vijay Singh 1020A212
  • Prayer of the Children, Kurt Bestor, arr. Andrea S. Clouse
  • Rock a My Soul, arr. Don Regier
10:00 AM BREAK

10:15 AM Mayville HS Concert Choir I (11+15/2=13)
  • Ave Verum Corpus, Wolfgang Amadues Mozart
  • Jebula Jesu, Stephen Hatfield
  • Zigeunerleben, Robert Schumann 1000AS525
10:45 AM Lomira Middle School I (12+12/2=12)
  • Skye Boat Song, arr. Thomas Rogers
  • Sanctus, Franz Schubert, arr. David Weck 1030MS764
  • Witness, Roger Emerson
11:15 AM Lomira High School Concert Choir I (14+12/2=13)
  • Stand Together, Jim Papoulis
  • Ave Verum Corpus, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1000AS526
  • Fiddler Man, John Rutter
11:45 AM JUDGE’S LUNCH

12:45 PM KMLHS Women's Choir I (16+16/2=16)
  • Lord, Hear My Prayer, Heinrich Schütz
  • Praise the King!, Andrea Oppermann
  • La Lluvia, Stephen Hatfield 1010A211
1:15 PM KMLHS Concert Choir I (12+16/2=14)
  • Sicut Cervus, Palestrina 1000AS503
  • Let Everything That Hath Breath, Ames
  • Alleluia, Randall Thompson
1:45 PM WLA Traveling Choir (sharing with KML)

  • Psalm 91, J. Scott Brubacher
  • Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord, Undine S. Moore
  • Lux Aurumque, Eric Whitacre 1000A211

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Paul Manz Hymn Festival - 3/21/10

A PAUL MANZ HYMN FESTIVAL
Presented by the Music Department of Winnebago Lutheran Academy
at St. Peter’s Ev. Lutheran Church, 1600 S. Main St., Fond du Lac, WI •March 21, 2010 • 3:30 and 7:00 PM

Participating Choirs: WLA Traveling Choir, Viking Choir, Freshman Choir, and Handbell Choir • Guest Organists: Phil Otto (St. Peter's, Fond du Lac) and Mark Davidson (Grace, Milwaukee) • Dale Witte, director

THE HYMN FESTIVAL - Streamed live 3/21/10 3:30 and 7:00 PM


Live TV : Ustream

Preservice Music: 
Blessed Jesus, at Your Word
Oh that I Had a Thousand Voices
Lord of Glory, Who Has Bought Us
Jesus, Thy Church with Longing Eyes
Now Sing We, Now Rejoice
Thy Strong Word

Hodie Processional (MSM-50-1021)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (MSM-60-9005)

Christus natus est - Christ was born

E’en So Lord Jesus Quickly Come (CPH 98-1054)
Peace Came to Earth (MSM-50-1020)

Christus passus est - Christ has suffered

Psalm 130 (Summy Birchard 1547)
Jesus, I Will Ponder Now (MSM-10-300)
Aria (arr. for handbells by Jeffery Honoré, MSM-30-912)

Christus resurrectus est - Christ has been raised

Now the Green Blade Rises (arr. for handbells by Pam Zuberbier)
Jesus Christ Is Risen Today (MSM-10-402)
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Mack Wilberg, Oxford)

Christus regnat - Christ reigns!

Let Us Ever Walk with Jesu(MSM-50-9405)
I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light (MSM-60-9019)
Postlude: Partita on St. Anne
II. Theme
VII. Fugue-Finale

Thursday, March 11, 2010

A New Look...Again?

Yes!

Thanks to fellow WELS teacher, Jason Schmidt, (follow him on Twitter @jasonschmidt123) for pointing out to me that Blogger now supports user-defined templates.  A full article can be read at Technologizer.  If you have a Blogger account, start playing with template settings at Blogger in Draft.  I may cycle through some new looks in the coming days and weeks.  It's always nice to have a fresh, new look!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

No AK tonight because of fog. Drive home safely!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Results from Flyway District Vocal Solo Ensemble Festival (Feb 27, 2010)

These students are amazing.  They have worked long hours on their own, squeezing in practice time between school, homework, sports, and travel to prepare to sing (and dance), not "for entertainment" but to be judged by someone they have never met and probably will never meet again.  Why?  Because they love to sing!

Those students who performed a Class A piece (the hardest on the WSMA list) and were awarded a *1 (a.k.a. "starred first") rating and have been advanced to the State Solo Ensemble Festival at UW-Oshkosh on April 24, 2010.  Those same students will also perform at WLA on Wednesday, April 21 at 6 PM in the WLA Choir room for a State Finalists Recital.

Interested in how to read the codes below?  Read WSMA's article on Festival Music Event List Numbering System. Want to figure out which piece the students sang?  Consult the 2009-2010 Festival Music List.

Class A Rating *1
*1 Boelk, Hether 1111A1 Soprano Solo
*1 Boelk, Et Al 1884A3 SATB Double Quartet
*1 Leisses, Janeen 1111A14 Soprano Solo
*1 Boerneke, Et Al 1282A9 TT, TB, BB Duet
*1 Plagenz, Et Al 1284A4 TTBB Quartet
*1 Moldenhauer, Dan 1211A4 Tenor Solo
*1 Adelmeyer, Libby 1311A7 Music Theater-Female Role
*1 Geisthardt, Et Al 6138A109 Mixed Show Choir
*1 Scharf, Charis 1121A8 Alto Solo
*1 Scharf, Et Al 1182AT SS, SA, AA Duet

Class A Rating 1
1 Klein, Ben 1211A17 Tenor Solo
1 Plagenz, Et Al 1424A5 Barbershop Quartet
1 Plagenz, Peter 1221A2 Bass Solo

Class A Rating 2
2 Marchant, Patrick 7111A14 Piano Solo
2 Halter, Laura 1311A3 Music Theater-Female Role
2 Halter, Laura 1111A11 Soprano Solo
2 Leisses, Janeen 1311A3 Music Theater-Female Role
2 Haugly, Dan 1211AS06 Tenor Solo
2 Moldenhauer, Dan 1321A2 Music Theater-Male Role
2 Adelmeyer, Libby 1111AS03 Soprano Solo
2 Haugly, Dan 1321A2 Music Theater-Male Role

Class A Rating 3
3 Adelmeyer, Et Al 1182AT SS, SA, AA Duet

Class B Rating 2
2 Petrack, Britany 1111B21 Soprano Solo

Class C Rating 1
1 Hein, Jessica 3121C1 Flute Solo

Class C Rating 2
2 Westphal, Bethany 1111C2 Soprano Solo