Sanders County students excel at District Music Festival

Members of the Plains High School band and choir returned last week a bit more upbeat after getting high marks at the District Music Festival in Missoula.

The high school band, led by Nicole Burrows, received a superior rating by adjudicators with “Whither Must I Wander” by James Swearingen and “Aztec Fire” by Jay Bocook at Sentinel High School on April 14. The Swearingen piece is about four minutes long and the Bocook number is about two and a half minutes. They were both pieces that the band prepared and rehearsed in advance, said Burrows, who stepped in this year as an interim music teacher to fill the spot left open by Brittany Nichols, who transferred to Thompson Falls. Plains School is getting a new music teacher, Lauren Lauridson, next fall.

The festival was an all day event that included band and choir ensembles from 15 different schools. The schools sign up for different time slots for every ensemble that they bring. The Plains High School band had one 40-minute slot for its performance and judging, said Burrows. “They also give you a piece of music to sight-read once you are done performing your prepared pieces. Sight-reading is when you are given a piece of music that you haven't seen before,” she said, adding that the kids are given a few minutes to look over the piece before performing it for the judges.

“They are a group of very determined, talented students, who worked hard in a less than ideal situation, having a teacher without experience for this year,” said Burrows, who will return as a paraprofessional when the new music teacher takes over. “I also want to shout out to Brittany Nichols for teaching them the skills they needed to be successful during this time,” she said. Judges rated the students superior, excellent, good, fair, and poor, said Burrows, who also noted that the kids are not competing against other schools, but by the quality of their performance and musical ability.

The clarinet duet of Aliyah Heathers, a sophomore, and Peyton Wasson, a junior, walked away with an excellent rating in the Woodwind Duet class the following day at Big Sky High School in Missoula. Heathers and Wasson received their accolade for their performance of “Q and A” by Carl Strommen.

“They had been practicing it on and off for about a month. This was both of their first times performing a duet,” said Burrows, who added that the judge gave them feedback and tips when they were finished.

Senior Lillian MacDonald also performed at Big Sky High School with a vocal solo of “Danny Boy” written by Frederick Weatherly. For her rendition of the song she took home a superior rating and will be going to the state music festival competition for western Montana at the University of Montana on May 5-6. Anyone in the solo, duet or trio performances that receives a superior rating qualifies for state.

The 18-year-old MacDonald was surprised that she received a superior rating because she was nervous and she had rehearsed the song only two or three weeks, but she thought “Danny Boy” would be fun and challenging. “I thought it would show the range in my voice,” she said. MacDonald has been with the band all four of her high school years. She also plays guitar, electric and bass, drums, and the ukulele. She plans to take music in college.

“Lillian performed a solo at the District Music Festival last year, also receiving a superior rating and progressing to the state competition where she received a perfect score,” said Burrows. In 2022, she sang “As I Went A-Roaming.”

Burrows said that the adjudicators do not tell the students at the time what rating they received. She said they don’t know how they scored until they pick up the adjudication forms at the end of the festival. The students are judged on how well they play the music as written as well as how they hold themselves, if they look and act professional, as well as how well they respond to the director during the music.

Burrows said the reward is getting the opportunity to learn from the adjudicators, who have decades of musical experience.

Participating students also included: Ashley Ferlan of the eighth grade, freshmen Kylan Bostick, Kalem Ercanbrack, Madi Peele, Hailie Tompkins, sophomore Logan Steinebach, and senior Montana Kilgore.