State Vocal Jazz Festival here on Saturday
The halls of Houlton Junior Senior High School will be filled with hundreds of aspiring vocalists on Saturday April 4, as the SAD 29 music department and Music Boosters host 35 ensembles for the Maine State Vocal Jazz Festival.
Photograph courtesy of Fred Casillas
SHIRETOWN PROUD — The Houlton Junior High jazz band placed first in the state in Division III at the Jazz Band competition in Newport this past weekend. Members of the group are from left, front, Mallory Clayton, Jayde McNinch, Emily Fitzpatrick, Mikaela Tuttle, Lauren Bragan, Kierra Carmichael, Kenzie Clark, Alex Casillas and Elyjah Crockett; standing, David Ngo, Ryan Tribou, Barrett Dunn, Alex York, Kole Buzzeo, Jacob McGuffin, Autumn Fox, Ethan Morse, Cole McLaughlin, Robby Woods, Josh
Sullivan, Taylor Forest, Isaac Morse, Phoenix Crockett, D.J. McGary, Director Kevin Mania.
Thirteen middle school show choirs will begin competition at 8:30 a.m. dancing and singing in the auditorium and the gymnasium. The high school jazz choir divisions with a combined 14 groups will take center stage in the auditorium around noon, while the eight high school show choirs will transform the Alumni Gymnasium into mini Broadway show presentations.
All choirs are separated into divisions based on school enrollments. Each group will be adjudicated by three judges and a special awards ceremony will take place after the daytime division competition. Four high school show choirs and four jazz choirs will be selected to perform in an evening competition.
The public is invited to attend all of the daytime competition and tickets will be sold at the door for $5 for adults, $3 for children and $15 for families.
An evening finals competition will begin at 7:45 p.m. and tickets will need to be sold at the same rate as the daytime price.
Aroostook county schools in the festival include Presque Isle Jazz Choir, Caribou and Union 122 Middle School Show Choirs, Houlton Junior and Senior show choirs.
The SAD 29 Music Boosters will also be selling t-shirts, flowers and concessions to raise funds to send more than 150 high school band and chorus students to a music festival in New York City in May. See schedule on page Fourteen.
