Los Lunas High School musicians bring home top honors from Solo and Ensemble Festival

Los Lunas

The 2001 Central District Six New Mexico Music Educators held their District Solo and Ensemble Festival in Los Lunas on March 2.

High school and middle school students from Los Lunas, Belen, Socorro, Moriarty, Mountainair, Bernalillo, Estancia, Grants and Rio Rancho participated in the festival. Students were judged by a staff of professional musicians and music educators from around the state who assigned a Division I, II, III, IV, or V rating to each performance. A Division I rating is the highest possible.

Henry Estrada, the band director at LLHS, said he thought the festival was a complete success.

“The students learn about performing in small groups and as soloists. This is something which they can use after they leave high school and into their adult lives. The judges give them feedback on their preparation and performance, which, in turn, helps the students become better musicians and helps them prepare for future festivals of this nature. I think this is one of the best experiences that the students receive.”

Los Lunas High School students who received a Division I rating on their solos were:

• Flute: Tania Aramburu, Bevin Driskill, Danielle Flores, Rebecca Morse, Marisela Ordonez, and Jim Tollefson.

• Clarinet: Stephanie San Nicolas, Dustie Woods, Joey Friedman, Ruben Perales, Ginamarie Porter and Elizabeth Salcido.

• Bass clarinet: Abby Whyman.

• Oboe: Marsha Spencer, Jean Herendeen and Katherine Noe.

• English horn: Katherine Noe on English horn.

• Bassoon: Emily Riddle and Ana Stanley.

• Alto saxophone: Carrie Jones on alto saxophone.

• Tenor saxophone: Alyss Vernon.

• Trumpet: Matt Espinosa, Abad Archuleta, Chris Larsen, Jessica Castillo, Kelsey Morley, Matt Garcia, and Robbie Jones.

• French horn: Justine Hall, Joe Gallegos, Stephanie Walden, Simon Valdez, Rachel Howard, Thomas Richardson and Joey Pachta.

• Trombone: Annie Day, Clarence Zimmerman, and Laura Pirard.

• Tuba: Kevin Schaus, Elisa Miller, and Adam Astorga.

Those LLHS students who received a Division II rating on their solos were:

• Clarinet: Yolanda Chavez, Josephine Mendoza, and Jessica Cardon.

• Bass clarinet: Natalie Thomas and Kim Leonard.

• Oboe: Ren Price.

• Saxophone: Kendall Whorton, Jennifer Barton, Annette Bowman, Sarah Mowrer, Matt Jones, and Paul Valdez.

• Trumpet: Matt Cash, Nathaniel Montoya and Noah Salomon.

• Euphonium: Ricardo Galicia, James Pettis and Octavio

• Tuba: Chuck Lounsbury.

• Percussion: Nick Cash, Pablo Castillo, Rachel Laursen, and Shawna Loddy.

LLHS students who received a Division III rating on their solos were:

• Clarinet: Ashley Trujillo.

• Saxophone: Ian Dike.

The ensembles from Los Lunas High School which received a Division I rating were:

• Flute choir: Bevin Driskill, Daniele Flores, Jodee Sanders, Tania Aramburu, Jim Tollefson, Amanda Clements and Sarah Vernon.

• Clarinet choir: Jessica Cardon, Aria Cook, Stephany San Nicholas, Rachel Morrison, Erin Cook, Sarah Marquez, Yolanda Chavez, Joey Friedman, Leann Raley, Natalie Thomas.

• Clarinet trio: Christine Guiswite, Laura Lucero, and Ricardo Aragon.

• Clarinet trio: Nicole Herschler, Joey Friedman, and Sarah Marquez.

• Clarinet trio: Josephine Mendoza, Laura Lucero, and Michael Garcia.

• Woodwind quintet: Tania Aramburu, Marsha Spencer, Jessica Cardon, Ameryn Kreiner, and Anna Stanley.

• Trumpet trio: Matt Cash, Noah Solomon, and Amy Bauch.

• French horn quartet: Stephanie Walden, Joey Pachta, Justine Hall, and Joseph Gallegos.

• Low brass quartet: Taylor Coleman, Clarence Zimmer-man, Sean Gorman, and Ricardo Galicia.

• Brass quartet: Laura Pirard, Dustin Farless, Michael Meyer, and Ricardo Galicia.

• Brass quintet: Erica Estrada, Chris Larsen, Ameryn Kreiner, Laura Pirard, and Kevin Schaus.

• Brass choir: Erica Estrada, Matt Cash, Matt Espinosa, Robbie Jones, Chris Larsen, Abad Archuleta, Joseph Gallegos, Ameryn Kreiner, Thomas Richardson, Laura Pirard, Anne Day, Taylor Coleman, Sean Gorman, James Pettis, Kevin Schaus, and Jennifer Sdchaus.

• Percussion duet: David Sanders and Eddie Seemann.

• Percussion ensemble: Joseph Madrid, Danielle Torres, David Sanders, Eddie Seemann, Alex Cory, and Jennifer Schaus.

• Percussion ensemble: David Sanders, Jennifer Schaus, Eddie Seemann, Danielle Torres, Rachel Laursen, Joseph Madrid and Alex Cory .

The Ensembles from Los Lunas High School which received a Division II rating were:

• Flute trio: Rebecca Morse, Rachel Morse and Amanda Clements.

• Flute trio: Holly Richers, Francine Baca, and Allison Cates.

• Flute trio: Brandie Bergs, Rachel Morse, and Rebecca Morse.

• Flute trio: Jim Tollefson, Jessica Johnson, and Amandajean Vollmer.

• Clarinet trio: Katie Hays, Amanda Vaughan, and Wesley Laursen.

• Clarinet trio: Leann Raley, Kim Leonard, and Marsha Spencer.

• Clarinet trio: Rachel Morrison, Aria Cook, and Erin Cook.

• Clarinet trio: Natalie Thomas, Anna Stanley, and Jessica Cardon.

• Clarinet quartet: Yolanda Chavez, Amanda Vaughan, Katie Hays, and Edwina Marquez.

• Mixed trio: Danille Flores, JoDee Sanders, and Sean Gorman.

• Trumpet Trio: Robert Gallegos, Jennifer Walker, and Abraham Fuentes.

• Trumpet trio: Enrique Lopez, Nick Macias, and Manuelito Rodriguez.

• French horn quartet: Rachel Howard, Chris Bittner, Simon Valdez, and Jeremy Majors.

• Brass quintet: Matt Espinosa, Joseph Gallegos, Taylor Coleman, Aaron Jones, and Sean Gorman.

• Low brass quartet: Ricardo Galicia, Eddie Keller, Sammy Kreiner, and Kaleb Gundrum.

• Mallet duet: Danielle Torres and Joseph Madrid.

The ensembles from Los Lunas High School which received a Division III rating were:

• Flute trio: Rebecca Morse, Justin Bradshaw, and Nicole Gentry.

• Flute trio: Jacquelyn Rice, Sarah Vernon and Amanda Mansfield.

• Percussion trio: Ryan Fiedler, Louis Franzoy and Zane Franzoy.

In addition to the ratings the students receive for their performances, the judges select the outstanding performances of the festival.

Those students from Los Lunas High named Outstanding Soloists were: Laura Pirard, trombone; Carrie Jones, alto saxophone; Stephanie Walden, french horn; Tania Aramburu, flute; and Ana Stanley, bassoon.

The Outstanding Ensembles from Los Lunas High School for the festival were: Flute Choir, Clarinet Choir, Clarinet Trio, Woodwind Quintet, Brass Quintet, Brass Choir, Low Brass Quartet, Percussion Ensemble and Percussion Duet.

Those students who earned a Division I rating on their solos or ensembles received a medal for their performance.