Darien Musical Ensembles Perform in NYC and Washington, DC Festivals!

 

The Darien High School Chorus performed in Washington D.C. on April 24-27.

The Darien High School Chorus performed the National Anthem at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The Darien High School Choruses, directed by Christopher Andrade, performed in the Heritage Music Festival in Washington, D.C. on April 25-28 and were adjudicated by the professor of choirs at George Mason University. The Concert Choir performed beautifully and placed second place in their category and division with a Silver (Excellent) rating. The Tudor Singers earned a Gold (Superior) rating – and were awarded the Adjudicators' Award for Outstanding Choral Group, having been the highest-scoring vocal group in any category or division for the entire festival.   Additionally, the Tudor Singers earned a spot at next year's invitation-only Festival of Gold at Carnegie Hall. 

The Darien High School Orchestra performing at the Heritage World Strides Music Festival in NYC on April 27th.

The Darien High School Orchestra, conducted by Jane Minnis, was awarded a Silver rating at the 2019 World Strides Heritage Music Festival in New York City on April 27th.  The Orchestra impressed the judges with their sound and balance and high level of orchestral literature. Jeffrey Campbell from Eastman School of Music and composer Carl Strommen adjudicated the ensembles and provided the students with a helpful clinic following their performance. The students were able to listen to other ensembles and meet music students from schools throughout the US and Canada.  Theie day ended with an awards ceremony aboard a Circle Line ship.

Darien Students Perform in CMEA Elementary Honors Chorus

Seven students from Royle School and Tokeneke School were chosen to perform  in the CMEA Elementary All-State Honors Chorus in Hartford on Friday, April 12.  The students prepared the music with their teachers in advance of the festival and rehearsed all day at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford under the direction of guest choral director Sophia Popoulis.  The Elementary Honors Chorus is made up of outstanding young musicians from throughout the state and takes place each year in conjunctions with the Connecticut Music Educators Conference.  The experience culminated with a concert performance for parents and music educators.

Pictured from Left: Rebecca Parnoff, Tokeneke Music Teacher, Phebe Childs (Tokeneke), Liv Stricker (Tokeneke),  Maddy Smaldon (Royle), Amanda Martin (Tokeneke), Cameron Pokorny  (Royle), Molly Shields (Royle), Sydney Warner (Royle), and Kathleen Theisen, Royle Music Teacher.   

The 2019 Connecticut Elementary Honors Chorus in rehearsal at the CT Convention Center in Hartford on April 12th.

Darien High School's 2019 All-State Musicians

Darien's All-State musicians: L-R Amina Mobarik, Caeleigh O’Connor, John Fallon, Juliette Kiernan, and Eleanor Chase.

Five outstanding musicians from Darien High School were chosen through a highly competitive state-wide audition process and participated in the Connecticut Music Educators Association 2019 All-State Music Festival. John Fallon, percussionist, participated in the All-State Band and Amina Mobarik, Caleigh O’Connor, Juliette Kiernan and Eleanor Chase participated in the All-State Chorus.  The rehearsals and the concerts for the festival took place at Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, CT on April 11-13 in conjunction with the state-wide CMEA conference.  The Darien students had the privilege of working in musical ensembles with Connecticut’s most accomplished high school musicians conducted by nationally renowned conductors and educators.   Richard Sadlon, the Director of Music in Darien states that, “These students are among the finest school musicians in our state and we are all extremely proud of their accomplishments and for representing Darien High School and our entire town so well at this prestigious state-wide event.”

Darien's 2019 Young Composers Present their Music!

The 2019 Darien Young Composers with guest composer Mr. Darryl Tookes presented their music on April 9th at Darien High School.

Darien High School seniors and composers Elizabeth Garijo-Garde and Evelyn Sload pose for a picture with guest composer Darryl Tookes.

The 19^th annual Darien Young Composers Concert held at Darien High School on April 9 featured the original musical compositions of talented young composers from the Darien Public Schools.  Our young composers, ranging in age from Kindergarten through grade 12, had an opportunity to meet and ask questions of accomplished guest composer Darryl Tookes. Mr.Tookes is a prolific vocalist performer, song writer and composer who is currently on the faculty of Florida A&M University and has performed with artists ranging from Elton John and String to Leonard Bernstein. The students also received comments from Mr.Tookes on each of their compositions. Richard Sadlon, the Director of Music states, “This year’s group of talented Young Composers performed an amazing range of musical styles and expressed their thoughts and ideas through music. We are always impressed by their creativity and extremely proud of their musical accomplishments.”

This year’s featured young composers were:

Kindergarten: Willian Telgheder, Grade 2: Lucy Appel, Medeline Galligan Grade 3: Alistar Jespersen, Lauren Erdlen, Grade 4: Caroline Galligan, Sienna Hall, Charlotte Cowles, Gavin Wheeler, Melody Long, Caroline Clemow, Ashley Rogers Grade 5: Lilly Davenport, Ella Goodrich, Mackenzie Boulton-Wallace, Mackenna Boulton-Wallace,  Mackenzie Fosdick Grade 6: Charlotte West, Allison Valji, Katelyn Erdlen, Cece Cummins Elise Shulman Grade 7: Sriram Pankanti, Vaughan Silcox Grade 8: Anya Napoli, Theo Bang, Nikhil Talwalkar Grade 11: John Phipps, John McGovern, Grade 12: Elizabeth Garijo-Garde and Evelyn Sload

You can view the entire concert at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cidMxYKn2uQ&feature=youtu.be&scrlybrkr=9c6cefe5

Darien High School Band Performs in Nashville!

The Darien High School Band, under the direction of Mr. Jonathan Grauer, traveled to Nashville, Tennessee on April 4-7. The Band students participated in a musical exchange with students at Cane Ridge High School, had master classes with faculty members at Vanderbilt University, visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry House and had the opportunity to record their music in historic RCA Studio B, where Elvis Presley made over 200 recordings.

The Darien High School Band students visited the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN

Our Darien High School Band students joined forces with students from Cane Ridge High School. Each school band performed for each other and then performed a combined selection.

The Darien High School Jazz Ensemble records in the historic RCA Studio B recording studio in Nashville.

Darien Students Honored at Statewide Arts Banquet

Two students from Darien High School were recently honored at the 2019 High School Arts Awards Banquet for their outstanding accomplishments in the fine and performing arts.  Justin Mossa (visual arts) and Evelyn Sload (music/performing arts) represented Darien High School and were the recipients of awards given at the event which was held on April 2nd at the Aqua-Turf Club located in Plantsville, CT.  Over 160 high schools from throughout Connecticut were represented at the Twenty-Fourth Annual Arts Awards banquet with over 1,300 people in attendance.  The event was sponsored by Jostens, Horace Mann Insurance, Fox 61 and the CT National Guard and was organized by the Connecticut Association of Schools.  Congratulations to our well-deserved recipients!

Pictured L-R:  Director of Music, Richard Sadlon, Music Award recipient, Evelyn Sload, Visual Art Award recipient, Justin Mossa, Visual Art Curriculum Coordinator, Jaclyn Sammis, and DHS Art teacher, Dorine Bosler.