submitted by Carolyn Barie
Berlin Elementary School 5th Grade students spent a tumultuous two days of music making this past weekend at the Rensselaer County School Music Association’s (RCSMA) All-County Music Festival hosted by Averill Park Central School District. [private]
Cadence Church (trumpet), Nora Colin (clarinet), Elsie Corbett (clarinet), and Malorie Zink (clarinet) were selected for RCSMA’s Elementary All-County Band through a nominations and application process, and are considered to be amongst the strongest student musicians in the County. These talented ladies showed hard work and dedication, partaking in special in-school rehearsals over the past several weeks as well as rehearsing with the Elementary All-County Band prior to Saturday afternoon’s performance.
“We are very happy and proud that these young ladies were selected for this honors ensemble, and they have been working very hard to learn special music,” said Bethanie Keem, 4th & 5th Grade Band Director at Berlin Elementary. Selections included Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” Larry Clark’s “Fanfare Supernova,” and an exciting rendition of Paul Jennings’ “A Prehistoric Suite” featuring different musical movements for Stegosaurus (gladiator), Brontosaurus (gentle giant), Pterodactyls (graceful giants of the sky), and even a dinosaur battle (Tyrannosaurus versus Triceratops)!
The Rensselaer County Schools Music Association is a cooperative organization supporting every music teacher in Rensselaer County. They sponsor two annual Ensemble Festivals for all grade levels as well as a Scholarship Festival in the spring. RCSMA sponsors these festivals to enhance the school music experience for our most outstanding and committed student-musicians, so that they will bring to their home music ensembles the lessons they have learned and positively influence their district-wide music program.[/private]