On February 15th and February 22nd, our Fine Arts programs were involved with the District Solo and Ensemble competitions. Solo and Ensemble is the  equivalent of a district contest. In this competition students prepare musical pieces to present to judges to get rated from I-V. One is the highest score you can receive. If the student obtains a superior, they will advance to state later this spring.

Norman North’s choir took 17 admissions to Mustang High School. They presented 15 solos and 2 duets to the judges and came home with 1 superior duet and 12 superior solos. These 12 students will attend State Solo and Ensemble on April 24th. A highlight from the contest was Psalm Ambos and Marci Serrano’s duet, ‘El Vito” by Emily Crocker. Psalm said, “It was a great first year experience. It can be stressful for sure, but after performing, you feel a sense of relief “.

Our orchestra brought a large group over to Norman High School and were very successful in the contest. 35 students participated this past Saturday and many went home satisfied with their performance. 17 solos and 4 ensembles received superiors and will be attending state on April 22nd. A highlight from last Saturday was the cello ensemble consisting of 10 students. They performed a piece called ‘Evening Prayer’ by Engelbert Humperdinck and received a one. Mason Leidner said, “I’m very proud of everyone who participated at District Solo and Ensemble and to the people who are going to  State. Excited to see how everyone improves”.

While the orchestra was at Norman High, so was the band. 26 pieces were submitted and overall were victorious in numbers. 14 solos and 6 ensembles acquired ones and will be heading to Stillwater for state on April 22nd. The trumpet choir’s piece, ‘Fanfare’ from La Peri was a peak to the day, receiving a large one from the judges. The 8 students are thrilled to be attending State. Trevor Morris said, “I am very excited to go to State for the second time. We hope to get a one at State by improving dynamic contrasts, accenting moving parts, and adding style to our piece”.

We are hoping to receive a large number of superiors at State coming up next month. Wish your Fine Arts peers good luck!