Students Take Stage in WSMA Middle Level State Honors Concert
NOTE TO EDITORS:
To identify students selected for the WSMA Honors Project in your circulation area, please refer to the student roster (pdf). Schools and cities are listed in zip code order for easy reference.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kevin Thays
Phone: 608-850-3566
Email: kthays@wsmamusic.org
Web: www.wsmamusic.org
WAUNAKEE, Wis. (October 11, 2005) – Wisconsin's most talented junior high and middle school music students (band, choir and orchestra) will perform in Madison on Saturday, October 29, at the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) Middle Level State Honors Music Project concert.
Across the state, 308 students in grades 6, 7 and 8 were selected in June 2005 from the 1,386 who auditioned to participate in the WSMA program. Auditions included individual student performances and an ensemble class, taught by an Honors judge. Selection was based on several aspects of music performance.
The WSMA Honors Project brings Wisconsin's finest school musicians together to work with nationally known conductors in a professional setting. Honors students experience profound musical and personal growth and share this leadership in their own school music programs. The 2005 WSMA Middle Level Honors Project conductors are:
Choir: Randal McChesney, president and executive director of the Richards Institute of Education Through Music and assistant adjunct professor, Music Education, University of Southern California School of Education, Los Angeles.
Orchestra: Randal Swiggum, music director of the Elgin (Ill.) Youth Symphony Orchestra, Madison.
Band: Timothy Yontz, coordinator of the Fine Arts Department, Kenosha Unified School District, Kenosha.
This year marks the 11th anniversary of the Middle Level State Honors Project. The Honors concert celebrates the remarkable achievements of Wisconsin's finest young musicians. Students will perform for an audience of more than 1,800 at their concert on Saturday, October 29, 1 p.m. at the Marriott Madison West hotel. Tickets can be purchased for $10 at the door.
Students in grades 6-8 who attend a WSMA-member school and participate in the school's music program will be eligible to audition for the 2006 WSMA Middle Level Honors Project. Applications can be obtained by school music teachers at www.wsmamusic.org beginning December 9 and are due by February 3, 2006. Auditions will be held at six locations throughout Wisconsin on April 7 and 8, 2006.
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Wisconsin School Music Association is a service organization with more than 1,000 member public and private schools. Last year over 219,000 students took the initiative to become involved in WSMA activities, including District and State Music Festivals, State Honors Projects, State Marching Band Championships and Concert Festivals. The Association is headquartered in, owns and operates the Wisconsin Center for Music Education – first of its kind in the nation. The Association is governed by a Board of Directors made up of superintendents, principals, and other officers from all over the state. WSMA believes music is a basic human need, and that all children have the right to experience all that music offers them.