MKA Musicians Reap Rewards
MKA musicians from the Middle and Upper Schools swept the board at recent Music in the Parks Festivals. On Friday, May 6, at the Six Flags venue, the Middle School Chamber Singers and the Tenor Choir both came in first place and received an Excellent rating, and the Girls' Choir received a Good rating, also taking a 1st place trophy. On the instrumental side, the 4th and 5th grade Elementary Strings came in first place with an Excellent rating, and in two big surprises, Overall Awards were given to the newly formed Middle School Tenor Choir and to the Middle School Strings, who won Overall String Ensemble.
Upper School musicians met with equal success, and in a clean sweep, the Orchestra, Concert Band and Jazz Band all came in first place and all received Excellent ratings.
From the entire festival of all schools (there were schools from the tri-state area, as well as Maryland,) it was noted that two students, both from MKA, caught the judges' attention and impressed them well enough to receive the only two solo awards of the festival – junior Donovan Brady for Instrumental from the Upper School, and eighth grader Eli Elman for Vocal from the Middle School. "These are very big awards. I am very proud of the students and they all did a fabulous job." Notes Middle School Fine and Performing Arts Chair Maria Gilmartin.
The next day at the Dorney Park venue, the Middle School instrumental bands had similar success. Both the 4th and 5th grade bands received Excellent ratings and first place finishes, and the 5th grade band also received the highest score of the day for all competing elementary school bands. Both the 6th and 7th/8th grade bands received the highest possible rating of Superior as well as finishing first in their respective divisions. In addition, the MKA Middle School Jazz Band also performed well garnering a Good rating and a first place finish in their division.
"What makes me so proud of our students is the focus and intensity that they show at these events." Says Gilmartin, "They are all working to put their best foot forward and to be the very best that they can be. It is a terrific learning experience for young musicians, and every year our students rise to the occasion."