MONROE, Conn. — The Connecticut Music Educators Association’s (CMEA) Western Region Music Festival boasts the most talented musicians in Fairfield County. When the concert and jazz bands, orchestras and choir go on stage at Wilton High School on Jan. 17, the performers will include 13 Masuk High School students, who were chosen after their auditions at Newtown High School on Nov. 15.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of our student musicians,” Principal Steve Swensen said after the successful auditions last fall.
On Monday morning, Masuk Band Leader Michael Ances led students through a rehearsal inside his classroom.
“What makes me proud is that we have more students participating and I feel we have been building momentum every year,” he said during a break.
The skill level and quality of play has been increasing, along with the rise in the number of Masuk students being chosen to perform in the Western Region Music Festival, according to Ances.
“Overall, I’m really pleased that the individual students who are participating will be able to perform with an incredibly high level group,” he said. “The experience they’re getting there is something they can’t get in an individual high school program. You see there’s more people than you thought, who excel at music and are willing to put in the time and effort to inspire each other. It’s great.”
Lisa Homann, director of Masuk’s Orchestra, also prepares the school’s music students who passed the auditions for the Western Regionals.
“It’s a very competitive field and the rest of the region is playing at a high level,” she said. “I would say these are big fish in the very small pond of Masuk, so it’s tough.”
Homann looked at two of her students standing in the hallway, Lam Pham, who plays the violin, and Kauan De Sant’anna, who plays the viola — both are juniors. “These kids never took a private lesson,” she said.
“I make them play in front of the class,” Homann said of her students. “They hate it, but it helps them in the auditions.”
Both Pham and De Sant’anna were chosen to perform in the CMEA Western Region Music Festival this January.
“I just want to thank Mrs. Homann , because she pushed me to practice,” Pham said.
“She pushed me to audition in the first place,” De Sant’anna said.
Ances said over 1,100 students auditioned for the festival and only about 350 were chosen. Among the Masuk students making the cut are:
Concert Band: Laney Stillway (French horn), Harry Li (alto sax) and Aiden El-Sahragty (trombone).
Jazz Band: Michael Daly, who was the highest scoring guitarist in the audition.
Orchestras: Matt Colberg (clarinet), Si Yi Robifker (violin), Lam Pham (violin) and Kauan De Sant’anna (viola).
Choir: Alison Catalan, Will Barrett, Ryan Sokira, Ethan Fonck and Dan Fontana.
Stillway, a sophomore, performed in the festival as a freshman and as a middle schooler two years ago. Of making this year’s cut, she said, “I feel like my hard work really paid off.”
“It’s pretty cool,” said Colberg, a junior, “because I played every day and practiced in the summer too. It really exceeded my expectations — and then for so many people from Masuk be chosen …”
“I did it last year, so I’m looking forward to it again,” said El-Sahragty, a senior. “I’m just lucky enough to have the time to practice.”
Masuk’s students also relish the opportunity to perform with other accomplished local musicians.
“Having so many good musicians around you, it’s such a great experience to make good music with everyone,” Colberg said.
Fontana was initially an alternate, before a position on the choir opened up.
“I’m pretty excited about it, because at first I didn’t get in,” he said. “Then they put me in like the sixth man off the bench. I’m excited to meet kids from the other schools. I’m nervous too.”
A few of Masuk’s Western Region Music Festival performers were out sick last Monday morning. Sokira, a senior in the choir who wore a mask, was not taking any chances leading up to the concert.
“This is my fourth year in the Western Regionals in choir,” he said. “It’s been a really fun experience getting to audition and be in so many choirs everywhere. This one is sentimental, because it’s my last one. The best thing about this experience is getting to know your music community, getting to know everyone and learning from so many accomplished conductors.”
Pham said he is looking forward to playing with the outstanding musicians at the festival.
“Over 1,000 people tried out, so it’s pretty cool to be chosen,” said De Sant’anna. “It’s a big change from a school orchestra. It’s a big professional orchestra.”
Robifker, who is a junior, noted how fast everything comes together. The festival starts with a rehearsal on Friday and another session early Saturday morning, followed by the concert later in the day.
One of the things Robifker looks forward to is the opportunity to perform with friends from other schools.
Masuk may soon have more good news to celebrate. Students who make it to the Western Regionals are eligible to audition to be All-State and Pham and Robifker plan to audition. Only one-in-four student musicians throughout the state of Connecticut will make the cut.
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