Plains musicians entertain big crowd with spring concert

More than 160 people showed up at the Plains School Spring Concert last Tuesday in the school gymnasium.

The hour-long concert featured the high school choir, the junior high band, the high school band, and special performances from a "Percussion Ensemble" by seniors Brenden Vanderwall, Sam Feliksa, Joe Martin, and junior Izzy Bakker, a foreign exchange student from the Netherlands. The four also entertained the crowd with an unusual percussion piece called "Klickety-Klack," which involved a couple of traditional instruments, along with common household items as musical devices. Dressed like construction workers, but with a Hawaiian twist, the four did use cymbals and drum sticks, but substituted drums with plastic pails and metal ladders and spray bottles. The piece probably won't win any Grammys, but it did receive a standing ovation.

The construction gig was the brainstorm of the school's music teacher, Loren Lauridson. This was the third concert that Lauridson has put on since starting at Plains School last September. "I had the idea of doing construction workers for their attire on "Klickety-Klack." The piece had a construction vibe to it so I decided to implement that into their attire," said Lauridson.

The concert included three songs by the high school choir - Abigail Wessely, Maddie Carter, KayLynn Boes, Randie Kilgore, and Kennedy Starika. The concert highlighted this year's seniors, including: Wessely, Martin, Vanderwall, Feliksa, Peyton Wasson, and Alex Horodyski. The junior high band did three pieces and the high school band played two numbers, along with the three by the Percussion Ensemble. Martin was featured in "Island Sunset" when he did a solo part in the middle section.

The musicians started rehearsing at the start of January and Lauridson said he's seen a lot of improvement in the kids' abilities. "There has been a mountain of improvement from the students, especially from junior high. It amazes me how far they have come from where they started earlier this year," said the University of Montana music graduate.

The concert included an awards ceremony for several of the student musicians with the biggest band award, the National Choral Award, going to Wessely. "Abigail Wessely came into this program with lots of knowledge from past choirs," said Lauridson. "Her previous foundation in choir helped inspire the other students and gave them a foundation to rely upon when they needed it. She was the rock for the choir this year and she will also be super missed," he added.

On the band side, Lauridson chose Peyton, who played the clarinet, for the John Phillips Sousa Award. "Peyton showed dedication to the program every day and always came to class prepared and knew her part. She was always a person to rely upon when asked to do things. She will be missed severely," he said. The Directors Award, the runner up to the Sousa award, went to Feliksa, who showed his drumming skills, doing large solo portions in "Concerto for Drumset," the final number of the evening.

The junior high Pep Band Participation Award went to Brooklyn Crain, Kylar Bannout, Riley Geenen, and Annika Ercanbrack. The Musicianship Awards went to seventh-grader Kylar Bannout and eighth-grader Riley Geenen.

"The students did an amazing job. I am glad the public enjoyed the concert so much," said Lauridson. "It is always fun to hear the joy it brings to the community," he added. Lauridson also said his first year at Plains has been great. "I am happy the community has accepted me and the program I have created."

The school had a 50/50 drawing at halftime to raise money for the high school band and choir to go to Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho. Wendy Carr of Plains won $675 with the school getting the other half. Lauridson said that any funds left over will go toward folders and new instruments. His instruments range from 1-30 years old and while none need immediate replacing, Lauridson would like to purchase more alto saxophones next year.

The school's high school band and choir will be participating in the District Music Festival at Sentinel High School in Missoula on Friday and Saturday with the District Solo/Ensemble taking place on Saturday. The purpose of the festival is for the participants to receive ratings on their performances, said Lauridson. The State Music Festival in Helena is scheduled for May 3-4. The Plains Elementary School concert, kindergarten to sixth grade, is scheduled for May 21.