Marlborough High School Musicians Sweep at Festival Disney

From Marlborough Public Schools: With their bags packed with passion, 121 Marlborough High School musicians headed to Disney to participate in this year’s Festival Disney. Competing against over 70 schools internationally that attended the Festival, MHS swept this year’s festival by winning 19 out of the 22 different awards. Festival Disney is held every four years; MHS students attended the first time in 1997 and this is the district’s third time performing at the Festival. The participating students completely funded their attendance at this extraordinary event where student musicians showcased their talent and passion for music.

“Even though we had a lot of challenges traveling with our wind instruments, the award ceremony was awesome and playing at Disney and being judged by a prestigious panel of judges was incredible,” stated Michaela Zomharis, a junior at MHS. Anthony Salameh, a 10th grader added, “We’ve been playing with our fellow musicians for a long time and have developed strong bonds, so we’re are more like family. Even though we play different instruments and perform in different musical groups, we consider ourselves One.”

Festival Disney Results:

• Ratings:Mixed Chorus - Superior
• A Cappella Choir - Superior
• String Ensemble - Excellent
• Concert Band - Excellent
• Wind Ensemble - SuperiorJazz Ensemble - Superior

Best in Class (A, AA, and AAA are all different classifications based on the size of the MHS student body.):

• A Cappella Choir - Chamber Choir
• String Ensemble - AA Orchestra
• Concert Band - A Band
• Wind Ensemble - AA Band

Special Awards:

• Outstanding Jazz Soloist - Justin Bartlett
• Adjudicator's Special Recognition - Noah Ogden and Tatyana Barthold for their scat solo in "Blue Skies"

Top Awards, (Gold, Silver and Bronze Mickeys are awarded to the top three groups across all classifications):

• Wind Ensemble: Bronze Mickey, Bands
• A Cappella Choir: Silver Mickey, Specialty Choirs
• Jazz Ensemble: Gold Mickey, Jazz Ensembles

“We are extremely proud of our students who performed at the Disney Festival this year; they are dedicated musicians and passionate about music, and the case full of trophies shows their commitment,” smiled Jonathan Rosenthal, Marlborough Public School’s Music Coordinator K-12. As the staff at Festival Disney said to the students and MHS staff who accompanied the students, "You guys cleaned up!"

Photo courtesy of Marlborough Public Schools