Moapa Valley Progress
Six Mack Lyon Middle School students attended the Clark County School District Solo and Ensemble festival in Las Vegas on Saturday, February 2. To enter the competition, each student was required to prepare an instrumental solo with piano accompaniment that they were to perform before a judge.
“This is a unique opportunity for the students to become soloists,” said Lyon Middle School orchestra teacher Walter White. “Without this competition, many students would be limited to playing just in larger orchestra groups.”
Each of the musicians put in many hours of practice and were rigorously prepared for the competition with White’s guidance. Judges listened to the prepared pieces, wrote constructive comments both positive and negative to enable the students to improve their solo performances. The judges also gave scores based on the execution of the student’s pieces.
The scoring system was I Superior, II Excellent, III Good, and IV Fair. Violinist Brandy Thompson along with violists L’rysa McMurray and Danielle Pray with cellist Kaden Simper all received superior scores. Violinist Kenna McMurray and bass player Calvin O’Toole received excellent scores.
“I am so glad that each of these students participated and did so well,” White said. “They are amazing!”