Nazareth Academy Bands Earn State-of-the-Arts Medals

Submitted by Nazareth Academy. Photos of Wind Ensemble (1) and Concert Band (2) taken at State of the Arts

La Grange Park, IL - Nazareth Academy’s Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble and Concert Band participated in the 36th Annual State of the Art Catholic Band Competition on Feb. 20 at Marian Catholic High School.

The State of the Art Competition consists of three competitive classes and allows any Catholic high school band from Illinois and Northwest Indiana to enter.

This year, twelve schools were represented with a total of twenty groups participating. Nazareth Academy entered both their Wind Ensemble and Concert Band into competition and both were successful in bringing home awards.

The Concert Band entered in Class A, finishing in Third Place. They were rewarded with a Superior rating and a plaque. The Concert Band performed Newforest March by Johnnie Vinson and Beyond the Riverbend by Robert Sheldon.

The Wind Ensemble entered in Class AAA for the first time since 2011. The Wind Ensemble also brought home a Third Place plaque and received a rating of Excellent. This was the first time in over twelve years that Nazareth placed in AAA. The Wind Ensemble also improved their total score by over four points from last year, when they finished runner-up in AA. The Wind Ensemble performed two cornerstones in the band repertoire, The Liberty Bell March by John Philip Sousa and Pageant by Vincent Persichetti.

Bravo to Concert Band, Percussion Ensemble and Wind Ensemble for being terrific and talented representatives of Fine Arts at Nazareth Academy.

Wind Ensemble

Flute: Amanda Harris (Western Springs), Cat Klostermann (Oak Brook), Lauren Nortier (Westchester)

Clarinet: Kirsten Bermudez (Westchester), Colleen Cavanaugh (Westchester), Julia Durnell (Chicago)

Bass Clarinet: Guadalupe Estrada (Summit)

Alto Saxophone: Kelsey Cho (Downers Grove), Eddie Colaianni (Westchester), Julia Nowicki (Westchester)

Tenor Saxophone: Ben Ernest (Clarendon Hills)

Baritone Saxophone: Kyle Bermudez (Westchester)

Trumpet: Omar Paniagua (Chicago), Jessica Sullivan (Stickney), Marcel Tworek (Westchester), Aidan Walton (Westchester)

Trombone: Guillermo Arroyo (North Riverside), Dan Kiernoziak (Chicago)

Euphonium: Jacob Matthews (Westchester)

Tuba: Garrett Allar (Westchester)

Percussion: Anthony Frugoli (Westchester), Brian Kavanaugh (Chicago), Sam McLachlan (Berwyn), Steve Staubus (Berwyn), Danny Zontos (North Riverside)

Concert Band

Flute: Veronica Alfred (Lyons), Hannah Dusek (Forest Park), Gwyneth Katsibubas (Chicago), Julianne Kosowski (Chicago), Anahi Marquez (Berwyn), Sophia Ryan (Westchester)

Violin: Jackie Alfred (Lyons)

Clarinet: Isabella Allar (Westchester), Angelina Cuevas (Berwyn), Anastasia Kakol (Palos Park), Shae Reiter (Stickney), Amanda Ward (Westchester)

Bass Clarinet: Julia Durnell (Chicago)

Alto Saxophone: Diego Arroyo (North Riverside), Walter Dorau (Chicago), Kristen Guerrero (Chicago), Abigail Wojtynek (Westchester)

Baritone Saxophone: Antonio Carrasco (Berwyn)

Trumpet: Katarzyna Staron (Chicago), Matthew Zukauskas (Chicago)

Trombone: Emily Rausch (Willowbrook), Andrew Staelgraeve (La Grange)

Euphonium: Ted Bucur (Berwyn)

Tuba: Neah Swierk (Lyons)

String Bass: Lucy Battaglia (Hinsdale)

Percussion: Leonardo Almazan (Lyons), James Fairchild (La Grange Park), Anthony Frugoli (Westchester), Julia Gregor (Stickney), Connor Lukas (Stickney), Sam McLachlan (Berwyn), Steve Staubus (Berwyn), Danny Zontos (North Riverside)