The Massachusetts Music Educator's Association
(MMEA) Western District Festival is an annual event sponsored by the
volunteer efforts of music teachers in Western Massachusetts. Auditions
are held to select the best student musicians in the area to
participate. The students who score the in the top half at their
auditions are selected to participate in the festival. They are sent
music which they must prepare ahead of time. There are two full-day
rehearsals followed by a performance in the Fine Arts Center at UMASS
on January 16, 2010. The Festival includes a chorus, band, orchestra,
and jazz band. Students with the top scores on their auditions are
invited to audition for the All State Festival, a three-day event which
takes place at the World Trade Center in Boston in March.
The
songs and scales that must be played at the auditions are of an
advanced level for each instrument. We encourage our most advanced
music students to participate. WMA faculty member Lucy Shrenker is on
the MMEAWD executive board and has volunteered to be the Festival
Orchestra Assistant Manager this year and the Manager next year.
These
twelve WMA students will travel to Westfield State College on November
14 to audition for the MMEA Western District Festival. Auditioning for
orchestra are HsiuCheng Ho '12, Chien-Hsiang Liao '10, Naruhiko Sugiura
'11, HeeWon Yoon '13, and Chi Zhang '11 on violin, Brooke Mele '11 on
flute, and SeaYoon Park '11 on oboe, Jacob Royal '13 on viola; for band
are Wooyoung Choi '11 on alto sax and Chien-Ho Lin '10 on tenor sax;
for jazz band Chongxuan Qiu '13 on alto sax; and for chorus Young-Jun
Lee '12.
