Tig r HiLi e
April 21, 2009
Volume 49 Issue 20
1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613
Musicians capture 114 Division I’s at state contest Ben Olson
2009 IHSMA Solo and Ensemble Contest Results
Staff Writer
On Saturday April 18, the CFHS bands, orchestra and chorus captured many top honors in the IHSMA Solo and Ensemble Contest. Even though the location was a little far from home, according to band director Gerald Ramsey, the turnout was great. “The contest took place at East High School in Waterloo, and we had about 125 band students participate,” Ramsey said. At this contest, students performed solos and in small groups. The performances were evaluated by a judge and given a rating based on musical criteria. “For each event, a judge uses a ballot with various categories on it. There are five points possible for each category, and the final Division rating is based on total points. Division 1 is the highest rating,” Ramsey said. According to Ramsey, though, this contest isn’t all about high scores. “Obviously we would like high scores, but another priority is to get as many kids involved as possible. Students who prepare a solo generally experience significant growth because they are practicing a lot on music that challenges them. But in addition to the kids who chose to perform solos, we try to get as many students as possible to participate in small groups. Typically the small ensemble literature does not provide as high a level of technical challenge as the solos, but this experience still provides ample opportunity for growth in ensemble and musicianship skills,” Ramsey said. Ramsey said this contest is a good tool for
Orchestra 20 Division I ratings 6 Division II ratings 9 Division III ratings Choir 22 Division I ratings 17 Division II ratings 1 Division III rating Band 72 Division I ratings 23 Division II ratings Each contest adjudicator may name one event from their center as the “Outstanding Performance” of the day. Seven of these eight awards went to Cedar Falls musicians. Center #1: Rhys Talbot, vocal solo Center #2: Daniel Veenstra, vocal solo Center #3: Ian Abbott, tenor sax solo (Peet 9th grade) Center #4: Elise Berry, oboe solo Center #6: Steve Ramsey, bass trombone solo Center #7: Chris Bowden, timpani solo Center #8: Alex Bowman, violin solo helping individuals shine. “In a 60-member concert band, it’s possible for an individual player to hide problems of tone quality, intonation or any other aspect of musicianship. But in the small group where the players are one on a part, everybody suddenly has to maximize their level of performance, or it is really obvious,” Ramsey said. He also noted that by working on the individual skills, the whole group ultimately improves. “We always hear a marked improvement in
our concert bands after the small ensemble experience, because a big percentage of the band is playing with a greater focus on all aspects of performance,” Ramsey said. Overall, the Cedar Falls band students had an outstanding day. Of 95 band entries, 72 received Division I ratings and 23 received Division II ratings. There were no Division III, IV or Vs given. Even better, 11 soloists and groups received a perfect ballot, including seven soloists (Sarah Halloran, Julie Lang, Elise Berry, Ian Abbott,
Mark Lukasiewicz, Louis Redfern and Steve Ramsey), the Clarinet Duet (Bethany Olson and Jasmine Singh), the Takes Brass Quintet (Natalie Takes, Annie Lantz, Kristen Counsell, Austin Javellana and Scott Frodsham), the Trombone Quartet (Paul Strike, Austin Javellana, Ben Morris and Steve Ramsey), and the Trombone Choir (Paul Strike, Austin Javellana, Ben Morris, Brendan Wood, Carson McRae, Drew Gienau, Scott Sesterhenn, David Farrell, Chris Kempf and Steve Ramsey). To receive such high rankings, much preparation took place in advance to Saturday. “Some soloists prepared for months, but most of our small groups have been practicing for four weeks,” Ramsey said. Sophomore trombone choir member Scott Sesterhenn said he was happy with how things went down. “For today, I practiced 20-plus hours between school and home, so I think I was well prepared. Today went well with both my quintet and T-bone choir receiving Division I’s. My solo got a Division II, which I was a little disappointed about, but other than that I can’t complain because I thought I played well today,” Sesterhenn said. Overall, the Cedar Falls band has a rich tradition in their preparation and participation at this ensemble contest. “I’m very proud of the participation rate within our band as compared to most other schools. All of our small groups get coaching from teachers, but a big part of the growth comes from the student musicians rehearsing without a director, making judgements and decisions on their own,” Ramsey said.
23 CFHS students participate in Spring Model UN Ben Olson Staff Writer
Students with an interest in debate and learning about different countries and their political issues got their fill at the Spring Model United Nations event last Thursday and Friday, April 16 and 17 at the University of Northern Iowa. According to Model U.N. adviser and government teacher Andrea Aykens, the turnout for Cedar Falls was great. “Twenty-three CFHS students participated in the conference,”
Aykens said. At the Spring Conference, Model U.N. students represent countries and discuss global issues concerning those countries. During their meetings once a week leading up to the Spring Conference, students gather information about those countries they will be representing. “Students prepare position papers on assigned topics prior to attending the conference so they are well informed of their country’s position on the topics that will be discussed. At the conference students work with
other students from Iowa, Illinois and Missouri who are representing other countries to seek peaceful solutions to global issues,” Aykens said.
Tyler (Schaub), Kensie (Smith) and Sarah (Halloran) provided excellent leadership to their country delegations and will be missed next year. -Model UN Advisor Andrea Aykens “It took me two full days to write a paper on my topic and issues. At the conference, different groups
whether to pass them or not,” sophomore Faran Malik said. This spring, the CF group was assigned three countries to represent. “We represented the countries of Haiti, Jordan and Slovakia this year. Each year students are assigned different countries to represent by the UNI secretariat — the UNI students who lead the spring conference,” Aykens said. “This time I represented Haiti. The issues I researched were political insecurity and police participation in organized crime. It was really interesting,” Malik said.
The most experienced members of Model U.N. are chosen as head delegates for the conference and provide information to the discussions along with other members. This year, head delegates were Tyler Schaub, representing Haiti; Kensie Smith, representing Jordan; and Sarah Weber, representing Slovakia. “Students did a wonderful job representing their countries and participating in debate. Tyler, Kensie and Sarah provided excellent leadership to their country delegations and will be missed next year,” Aykens