19 Chelmsford High Students Selected For MMEA District Music Festival

CHELMSFORD, MA — Several Chelmsford High School musicians and singers recently received district and potentially All-State recognition, the school announced.

A total of 19 students were selected for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) Northeastern Senior District Music Festival.

Among the group, which includes participants in orchestra, band and chorus, eight students also earned MMEA All-State recommendation.

The students were selected after auditioning at North Andover High School.

"We are so proud of the students who auditioned for and were accepted into this year's Senior District Festival," said Dr. Christy Whittlesey, the coordinator of K-12 Fine and Performing Arts at Chelmsford Public Schools. "Their success is a direct result of both their hard work and the efforts of our music faculty, who are dedicated to offering students the best quality K-12 music education possible."

The MMEA Senior District Music Festival is scheduled for Jan. 4, 6-7 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. The festival will include rehearsals for the district orchestra, band and choir, with performances on the final day of the event.

All-State auditions are scheduled for Jan. 21 at Shrewsbury High School. The Chelmsford Friends of Music once again will cover the audition fees for CHS's eight qualified students.

For the district festival, five CHS students earned first-chair honors, they were: senior Kaitlyn Kaminuma (violin), senior Sarah Roch (percussion), junior Jack Tallent (tuba), junior Kyle Pinto (trombone) and freshman Jade Boyer (flute). Both Kaminuma and Roch earned first chair status for a second straight year.

The eight CHS musicians who received MMEA All-State recommendation were: Roch, Pinto, Tallent, senior Jacquelyn Brennan-Barbeau (bass), Kaminuma, Boyer, freshman Ryan Blaine (French horn) and freshman Ethan Jiang (tenor saxophone).

The other CHS students selected for the MMEA Northeastern Senior District Music Ensemble were: senior Eleanor Desmarais (chorus), junior Cailin Deutschmann (chorus), sophomore Jason Dou (viola), senior Jamie Garber (alto sax), junior Aidan Gilmore (trumpet), junior Jociah Kautz (chorus), freshman Karen Khela (violin), junior Cynthia Lu (violin), senior Brian Miller (trumpet), sophomore Sophia Miranda (clarinet), and freshman Joshua Wolman (bassoon).