VVHS Music Groups Fare Well at Festivals

By TYRA LUDVIGSON

The Progress

The music programs at Virgin Valley High School performed at festivals and competitions over the past several weeks and done remarkably well.

All the music festivals have three judges that rate each performing group on a scale of one to five, with one being the best score possible. The judges also record themselves while making comments during the performance; this allows the group to go back and listen for specific feedback to improve on.

Earlier this spring, VVHS’s guitar and orchestra groups competed at their festivals. Both groups are led and conducted by Marie Palmer. The orchestra earned a score of 2.

Virgin Valley’s advanced concert band, led by Daryl Richardson, was also able to attend the festival and their performance also earned them a score of 2.
“Music brings people together in groups like this,” said Aeowyn Allen, a VVHS sophomore band member, “l’m really grateful to have shared this experience with my friends.”

Virgin Valley’s choir then attended the “All City Music Festival” hosted at Del Sol Academy of the Performing Arts in Las Vegas. The judges commented on the group’s amazing performance and blend saying that they were, “focused and professional, had beautiful tone, quality, and intonation, and had expressive phrasing.”

The group earned a superior score of 1.
“It was a lot of fun, even though it was a little nerve racking,” said senior singer Kaylee Griffiths, “But it was worth it. All of us being able to share our talent of singing with others was amazing!”

The school also sent its jazz band to festival on April 4 at Green Valley High School. The group‘s numbers featured many soloists including junior Ben Nelson, junior Caiden “Jonsie” Jones, senior Tyra Ludvigson, junior Carl Lym, and senior Angel Garcia. This ensemble is led by band director Daryl Richardson and volunteer jazz-professional Conrad Allen.

This year was the first time many students had a solo at festival. Garcia soloed on the flute in jazz style for the first time, it was also Lym’s first time soloing on the trombone. While the first-timers definitely enjoyed the experience, so did long-time players.
“Jazz is one of the most fun things I’ve done at this school, and playing guitar made it even greater,” said the jazz band’s guitarist Kade Nice. ”Playing jazz guitar has really improved my playing skills. It can be very difficult sometimes, because the chords are very advanced, but it’s definitely worth it.”

The jazz ensemble’s outstanding sound and funky tunes earned them a superior rating of 1!

All these VVHS groups will perform end-of-the-school year concerts in the upcoming month where the public can enjoy these high-performing groups.