Kewanee High School Band Finishes 1st Place Statewide in IHSA Solo/Ensemble Contest
The IHSA confirmed today that the Kewanee High School Band finished first place statewide for Class B in March's Solo & Ensemble Contest with a final score of 276 points. Chester finished second with 267 and Monmouth-Roseville and Oregon tied for third with 252.
Solo/Ensemble Contest is the first of two IHSA music events that make up the IHSA Music Sweepstakes Series. At solo/ensemble students perform by themselves (solos) or in small groups of similar instruments/voices (ensembles) for a judge and receive a rating. The top rating is called "Division I" and is described as "Superior. Outstanding in nearly every detail." Kewanee music students earned a total of 79 Division I medals this year. Each Division I and Division II rating adds "sweepstakes points" to the school's total.
Throughout the day, each judge awards the "Best Of Day" accolade to "the most superior performance heard by the judge." The KHS Band earned an unprecedented 5 Best of Day awards including:
Madeline Gustaitis - Flute Solo
Simon Heck - Trumpet Solo
Shaan Dev - Trombone Solo
Marcos Pagan - Snare Drum Solo
Gregory Wolf and Malachi Israel - Tuba Duet
The KHS Bands and Choirs will be hosting and competing in the IHSA Music Organization Contest this Friday, April 8th at Kewanee High School. Performances begin at 4:00 PM and are open to the public.