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Indian Hill School
Art Fusion
Spring 2015
District
Education through the Arts
Volume 4: Issue 2
Braves Marching Band plays at Opening Day Parade!
Braves join Madeira and Mariemont Marching Bands for a unique experience
2
IHHS Musicians impress in OMEA rankings!
All genres of the Indian Hill High
School Music Department—band,
strings, and voice—were well represented at the 2015 OMEA (Ohio
Music Education Association) District 14 solo and ensemble festival
in late January at St. Xavier High
School. A total of 43 students performed in 31 OMEA events: 23 solos and 8 small ensembles. IH impressed the judges, taking home 21
Superior (I) and 9 Excellent (II)
scores, with the majority of performers presenting Class A (highest level of difficulty) compositions.
Orchestra performers photographed
Sarah Borden, Elyse DeHamel, Maddie Domagala, Sophie Kushman
Front l to r:
2nd l to r:
Jack Ning, Antonio Vega-Torres
3rd l to r:
Gus Reed, Essam Chaudrey, Durham Colohan
Band performers photographed:
Front l to r:
Marino Sasaki, Sarah Tan
2nd l to r: Collin McQuinn, Katie Choi
3rd l to r: Claire Taghiof, Tommy Klinedinst, Rachel Travis
4th l to r:
Kevin Dirr, Kyle Thompson-Taylor, Alex Pregel
The solo and ensemble contest aims to recognize the efforts of serious high school musicians in all disciplines, while providing camaraderie in a professional environment for students
who share a love of music. High-fives and an
atmosphere of excitement pervaded the cafeteria as scores were being posted all day long,
indicating that the event was a huge success
for all participating students and their teachers.
Five students went the extra mile and performed in two events, while Junior Claire Taghiof performed in three !
3
OMEA: IHHS was proudly represented by 23 Soloists and 8 Ensembles
OMEA Vocalists photographed:
Front l to r: Annika Hileman,
Haley Ward, Sarah Alexander, Maggie McKenna
Middle l to r: Hannah Ragnone, Katie Sullivan, Leah
Mossman, Rini Rinvee
Back l to r: Zen Taylor, Elias
Halabi, Kyle Goold, Charlie
Rhoad
* not all performers were
available for these photos!
Soloists/Grade
Event
Sara Alexander (10)
Voice
Kyle Goold (10)
Voice
Shehani Gunawardena (10)
Voice
Elias Halabi (10)
Voice
Annika Hileman (11)
Voice
Sophie Kushman (9)
Violin
Maggie McKenna (9)
Voice
Leah Mossman (9)
Voice
Alex Pregel (10)
Trombone
Hannah Ragnone (10)
Voice
Charlie Rhoad (10)
Voice
Tasneem Rinvee (11)
Voice
*Jack Robertson (12)
Voice
Katherine Sharp (10)
Voice
Katie Sullivan (10)
Voice
**Claire Taghiof (11)
Clarinet and Alto Sax
Zen Taylor (11)
Voice
Kyle Thompson-Taylor (11)
Trumpet
Rachel Travis (11)
Clarinet
Saxophone Quartet
Kevin Dirr (12)
Tommy Klinedinst (9)
Marino Sasaki (9)
**Claire Taghiof (11)
Flute Trio
Katie Choi (9), Sarah Tan (9), Colin McQuinn (10)
Violin Duet
Gus Reed (9) and Antonio Vega-Torres (9)
Violin Duet
Essam Chaudhry (11) and Durham Colohan (11)
Violin/Cello Duet
Elyse deHamel (10) (violin) and
Madelyn Domagala (9) (cello)
String Trio
Sarah Borden (10) (viola), *Sophie Kushman (9) (violin),
Jack Ning (9) (violin)
Men’s Vocal Ensemble: “Colorado Trail”
Marco Fiore (9)
Edmond Hooker (10)
Mick Oakes (9)
*Jack Robertson (12)
*Noah Vigran (9)
Voice
Aneesh Singh (9) *Noah Vigran (9)
Haley Ward (10)
Voice
Men’s Vocal Ensemble: “Wait for the Wagon”
*Kyle Goold (10)
* denotes student who performed in two events
Jack Johnson (10)
** denotes student who performed in three events
Chuck Long (11)
*Elias Halabi (10)
Tommy Logeman (12)
4
IH Hosts OMEA District 14 Honor Orchestra
Represents the top 7th/8th grade strings players in Cincy
Pictured are l to r: Lottie Shepherd, Rachel Volk, Ava Dong, Brianna Yin.
Not pictured: Chrishia Silver and James Starkey
IH Orchestra Director Trista Emmons hosted the Ohio Music Education Association District 14's Honor Orchestra January 16 and 17 at the IHHS Auditorium. The Honor Orchestra is comprised of seventh and eighth grade students from across the Cincinnati
area, representing the top string players in the area. Students were nominated by their
school orchestra director and then competed for seat placement. IHMS eighth grader
Ava Dong received the top violin ranking from adjudicators and was named the Honor
Orchestra Concertmaster. IHMS was also well represented by Brianna Yin (violin), Rachel Volk (cello), Chrishia Silver (cello), Lottie Shepherd (bass), and James Starkey (first
trombone).
Congratulations to all our accomplished musicians!
5
The Maestro returns!
John Morris Russell combined concert April 14th!
On Tuesday, April 14, the Indian Hill High School Band and Orchestra will combine forces with the bands and
orchestras from both Mariemont and Madeira High School to present a concert under the baton of Maestro
John Morris Russell, the conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The concert will take place at 7:00 pm
in the Indian Hill Auditorium. The bands and orchestras from each school will perform one selection on their
own. Then the combined orchestra and combined band will each perform a selection with Maestro Russell
as the guest conductor.
To prepare for the performance, the ensembles from all three schools will gather at Indian Hill on the evening of Monday, April 13, for a dress rehearsal. The rehearsal will be run by Maestro Russell. Additionally, a
few members of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra will be on hand to work with the student-musicians. Maestro
Russell has already paid a visit to Indian Hill to work with the band and orchestra students.
This rehearsal and performance are a tremendous opportunity for Indian Hill students to learn through the
collaboration with student-musicians from other schools, and to learn from a master musician/conductor.
Maestro Russell brings a contagious enthusiasm and wealth of knowledge and expertise to the podium that
inspire the students achieve even above and beyond their usual high level of performance.
This will be the third consecutive year that Maestro Russell has led the collaboration and performance between the music programs from these three schools. The opportunity for our students to be part of such a
wonderful experience is made possible by the vision and generosity of Indian Hill residents and lovers of music, Lou and Myra Chabut.
Left: Maestro Russell
rehearsing with the
IHHS Band earlier this
spring.
Below: IHHS orchestra
has their turn with
The Maestro.
6
Annual Pancake Breakfast always serves up great music!
The Indian Hill Instrumental Music program held its annual Pancake Breakfast February 28. The Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser is
a celebration of the 5-12 instrumental music program. It is an opportunity for the community to hear every band and orchestra
while enjoying a delicious breakfast and raising money to financially support the program. This year’s event was chaired by music parents Melanie Atkinson, Geeney Antenucci, Cindy Neumann, and Niki Singh and would not have been possible without the
help of many parents. Thank you!
One highlight of the morning was the debut performances of the 5 th Grade Band and 5th Grade Orchestra. Their first public performance was a rousing success as the performers focused their energy on the music while parents proudly snapped photos of
this momentous occasion. We look forward to every student continuing in their performance ensemble through their senior
year of high school and remaining lifelong musicians.
The following ensembles performed at this year’s Pancake Breakfast:
5th Grade Orchestra
6th Grade Orchestra
7th Grade Orchestra
8th Grade Orchestra
5th Grade Band
6th Grade Band
7th Grade Band
8th Grade Band
IHHS Orchestra
IHHS Band
IHMS Jazz Band
IHHS Jazz Band
Left: Debut performance of the
5th Grade Orchestra
Right: Performance by the
8th Grade Orchestra
7
MS’s Peter Pan Jr a flying success!
On March 13th and 14th, IHMS Theatre put on Peter Pan Jr! Students began rehearsals in January and were so excited to recreate the story of Peter Pan, and his
adventures in the magical world of Neverland! The over 85 kids involved in the cast
and crew were amazing as pirates, mermaids, Indians and Lost Boys! Many thanks
to the parent volunteers and community members for coming to the show and supporting our Middle School Theatre Program!
Left:
8th graders in
the cast
Below:
Entire cast and
crew of the MS
production of
Peter Pan Jr.
8
ES Choirs sing into spring!
Extra mile: all ES choirs are extra-curricular. That means the students agree to practice early
before school every week or they use valuable recess time to create this beautiful sound.
The 3rd grade choir opened the show.
Alice Bohn leads the 4th grade choir.
9
...more from the ES choirs
5th grade choir takes the stage.
Kaira Fenix, Grade 9, I See You
All together
now!
The three choirs
joined together
to conclude the
concert with
two powerful
songs.
Congratulations
to all on a great
performance!
10
Primary School’s First Grade Musical
“Goin’ Buggy with Bugz”
The First Grade put on a
charming show and it
looks like they shared
the stage with some
special visitors!
11
Indian Hill School District named 2015 Best
Community for Music Education
After everything posted in this newsletter, can there be any doubt?
The Indian Hill School District has been named a 2015 Best
Community for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation
(National Association for Music Merchants). This prestigious
recognition was awarded to only 388 districts throughout the
country.
The NAMM Foundation supports research projects that explore
the impact of music making. The Foundation promotes research through the media that provides information about the
benefits of making music at every age. A few fun facts from
their research include:



Music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school.
Research shows that piano students are better equipped to comprehend mathematical and scientific concepts.
Students who were exposed to music-based lessons scored a full
100 percent higher on fractions tests than those who learned in
the conventional manner.
Thank you to all the wonderful
music educators at Indian Hill
Schools who make it such a
great place to be!
Brought to you on behalf of the IH Boosters. Share Fine Arts News! Email [email protected]