Singers and Musicians Perform; Earn Individual and Group Honors

Lainee Cox, A&E Editor • 7 Views

March 8, 2024

The high school choir poses after their ensemble performance at the District Solo and Ensemble contest at Bloomington North High School. Pictured from left, front row: junior Mary Cook, sophomore Cheyenne Hopper, freshman Amethyst Jones, junior Ellisa Parks, second row: sophomore Jayka Brown, freshman Emma Wells, senior Viv Fugate, freshman Sylas Washington, freshman Wylee Ruckman, sophomore Cannon B. Lambdin, freshman Josh Young and junior Rhi Pinnick.

Many PHS singers and musicians have been preparing pieces to compete in the annual solo and ensemble contests, representing the choir and band classes. The classes have been preparing since returning from Christmas break.

On January 27, the high school choir traveled to Bloomington North High School to participate in the annual Choir District Solo and Ensemble.

“I thought the performance went well; everyone was focused and professional, remembering various things we’d talked about regarding technique and concert etiquette. I think we have a great base to build upon, so our performance for ISSMA in April can be even better,” said choir Director CeCe Underwood.

Twelve students attended to perform in an ensemble and received gold for their performance. Only few students preformed solos. Freshmen Josh Young and sophomore Cannon Lambdin both received gold, and freshman Amethyst Jones received silver. Juniors Mary Cook and Rhi Pinnick received gold on their group one solos. On February 17, Cook received Gold with Distinction for her solo, and Pinnick also received Gold.

On February 3, band members attended the District Solo and Ensemble. Students traveled to Jasper Middle School to perform their prepared solos and ensembles.

There were 81 students in attendance, 128 gold medals were received, 17 of those being group one events, 55 gold events for pieces groups two to five and nine being silver events. There were 21 students included in the 17 group one events and students traveled to Indianapolis on February 24 for the State contest. The band brought home 13 Golds and three silvers for their performances.

“All the hard work the kids put in the last few months was worth it,” said Karkosky.

For many junior high students, this was their first time participating in solo and ensemble. One of those students being seventh grader Hayden Dixon, who received gold on both his snare and keyboard solo for percussion.

“My favorite part of Solo and Ensemble was most likely just performing my solos,” said Dixon.

Band Director Christian Karkosky was proud of the group’s accomplishments.

“It was an incredibly successful day. And more importantly we learned a lot during the process and gained great insight from going through the preparation process. I am so proud of all the students and they should be proud of themselves,” said Karkosky.