Upcoming festival keeps SHS musicians inspired

Junior+Timothy+Goodell+plays+his+part+in+the+jazz+band+during+class+Friday

Samantha Hamilton

Junior Timothy Goodell plays his part in the jazz band during class Friday

For the past year, students at SHS have been devotedly practicing solo and ensemble music for the upcoming music festival, where students have a chance to let their talents shine. Now it’s crunch time as these musicians near their festival date.

Coming up first is the jazz festival this coming thursday and friday, April 9 and 10 in Powell. The jazz band, Treblemakers, and Spectrum will be traveling to show off their skills. Festival is not a competition for the different groups, but there is the chance to win the outstanding soloists award. Other bands and choirs will also be attending, even some from Montana and Idaho.

Orchestra will be hosting their festival April 9 and 10 here in Sheridan. Festival solos and the ensemble performance will be held Wednesday, April 9 at 6:30, with the solos continuing on to the next day.

“It’s a good experience,” freshman Zach Gale says. Gale has participated in festival for four years and has “enjoyed every year of it.” Unlike band and choir, orchestra’s festival is held only for Sheridan students because of the lack of orchestras in the northeast district.

The last festival is the Northeast District festival which will be held in Gillette on April 29. Mixed choir, Spectrum, Honor choir, Treblemakers, and the symphonic band will be participating. This festival will be used to meet state standards, but it too is not a competition. The soloists and the ensembles will be adjudicated on a scale of “fair” to “superior”.

Overall, the atmosphere is pretty laid back. “They (the students) are kind of excited to show off what they are doing. There’s a lot of excitement and a little bit of competitiveness because they want to sing better than the other groups that are here to raise their level of performance,” says band director Diane Knutson.