The halls are alive with the sound of music

Alexis Barker
NLJ Reporter
 
Music enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to in March. 
Events and performances are scheduled throughout the month to celebrate Music in Our Schools month, highlighting the local talent in the middle and high school, as well as students from other schools. 
“We cordially invite community members to come to any of our special events or even to our class to celebrate the importance of music in our lives,”  Jan Ellis, choir instructor at Newcastle High School and middle school, said. 
The Troubadours, a local male singing group, will perform the national anthem on March 7 in Casper, kicking off the 3A state basketball tournament. 
“On March 14, we will have an eighth-grade musical in the Crouch Auditorium at 7 p.m.,” Ellis said. 
Eighth-grade band and choir students from Newcastle Middle School will perform the musical “Disney Spectacular.” 
“Many of the older traditional Disney tunes will be sung and played, which lends for a “happy” evening that is Disney’s mantra (the Happiest Place on Earth),” Ellis said. 
Not only will the middle school become the home to classic Disney favorites, as the eighth-graders prepare to bring some family fun to the Crouch auditorium, the auditorium will also be the host site for the Wyoming Music Educators Association’s Northeast Middle School Solo and Ensemble Festival. 
“Performers from many area schools will sing for adjudicators on prepared pieces and be rated as to their accomplishments,” Ellis said. “Delores Sylte will be the choir adjudicator, and Sara Whipple will judge the instrumentalists.” 
The festival will take place at Newcastle Middle School on March 16 for an all-day event. 
Choir and band students will again take the stage in Crouch Auditorium on March 19 at 7:30 p.m., presenting their final performance for the 2018-19 school year. Ellis said that the concert will feature songs appropriate for festival competition. 
Rounding out the music-packed month will be a trip to New York for Ellis and several of her students on March 21-25. Selected students will take part in a Distinguished Concerts International New York event. 
“The students have been fundraising for quite some time and also are learning eight songs arranged by Deke Sharon (of ‘Pitch Perfect’ fame),” Ellis said. “He is amazing at a cappella singing.” 
Students making their way to New York are Kelsey Bennett, Asia Graham, Callie Hiser, Jonnaye Rosenau, Paige Liggett, Maggie Lorenz, Kolby Pisciotti, Aaron Fullerton, Avery Chick and Brady Wilkes. 
“These outstanding musicians will join with other choristers from around the world to form the Distinguished Concerts Singers International, a choir of distinction,” according to a Feb. 13 press release from the Distinguished Concerts Singers International New York. 
“They will be practicing with students from throughout the United States and perform in the renowned Avery Fisher Hall at Carnegie Hall,” Ellis said. “We will also tour some, and they will see the 9/11 Museum/Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, view the city from the top of Rockefeller Center, attend the Broadway hit ‘Anastasia,’ take part in a musical sing/dance workshop based on the production ‘Lion King’ and eat at several iconic spots, such as Ellen’s Stardust Diner, Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood.” 
This is the third time students from Newcastle High School will perform at this event, according to Ellis. She attended the Carnegie Hall performance in 2013, 2016 and now again in 2019. 
“We are thrilled to have this talented group join us,” said Malcom Moon, marketing assistant and box office at Distinguished Concerts International New York. “The ensemble had to go through an intensive audition process and were selected by members of our artistic board.” 
Dr. Jonathan Griffith, artistic director and principal conductor of the organization, said that Newcastle High School received its invitation because of the quality and high level of musicianship demonstrated by the singers, as well as the school’s previous appearance at the concert. 
“It is quite an honor just to be invited to perform in New York. These wonderful musicians not only represent a high quality of music and education, but they also become ambassadors for the entire community,” Ellis said. “This is an event of extreme pride for everybody and deserving of the community’s recognition and support.”