MKA Musicians Meet with Success at Area Competitions
It was a great weekend for MKA’s musicians and the school’s tri-campus music program as performers of all ages met with resounding success at various music competitions.
On Friday, May 2, MKA Strings swept the awards at the Six Flags Great Adventure Music in the Parks Competition. The 4th/5th Grade Orchestra and the Upper School Advanced Strings were given the highest marks, earning a Superior Rating. MKA Advanced Strings also beat a large Nyack High School orchestra, placing first, while MKA's String Orchestra earned a rating of excellent and placed third. All the strings groups can be heard performing live in their annual Opus concert at Carnegie Hall on May 17.
At the same competition, the Middle School Chamber Singers and Girls' Choir had their most successful results ever at Music in the Parks since the groups were founded in 2001. For the first time, both groups earned the highest scores in all evaluated categories, gaining Superior Ratings. In addition, the Chamber Singers won the middle school "Overall Choir Award" category, and two 8th grade students were singled out with individual awards; "Overall Student Accompanist" went to Alex Melitz for his guitar accompaniments and "Overall Soloist" went to Sarah Willis.
Meanwhile, at the "Trills and Thrills Music Festival" in Neptune, NJ held on the same day, the Upper School Concert Band and the Jazz Band met with similar success. The Jazz Band won the top prize with a rating of Superior and a score of 96 out of a possible 100 points and the group’s soloists received a perfect 10 out of 10 possible points. The Concert Band were just two points short of the top rating, earning an Excellent rating and receiving 20 out of 20 points for musicality and interpretation.
A weekend of competition was rounded out on Saturday, May 3, when the Middle School Concert Bands (4th, 5th, 6th and 7th/8th) competed at Dorney Park in Allentown, PA. All the bands finished in first place with Excellent ratings and the 4th Grade Band won a trophy for the highest score among all the Elementary school bands competing in their category that day. The Middle School Jazz Band came in second place with a Good rating.