Toni Burks Photography
The Carroll music program is breaking onto the national stage. Earlier in June, CISD Band Director Ken Johnson says 21 of his students submitted recordings to be considered for performing at the 2020 Music For All National Chamber Festival next year. According to Johnson, nine students ended up qualifying and will perform at the national festival. Johnson says only 12 chamber groups from across the country were invited to perform.
“This is our very first time to submit recordings,” Johnson remarks. “That was neat that on our first try, we got some ensembles in.”
Those students include Kiera DiCesare, Drew Keady and Diego Pena in the bassoon trio, and Zoe Bishop, Ariana Carrasco, Phoebe James, Bailey Koewing, Ria Taluja and Lauren Watson in the clarinet sextet. Johnson says the next few months will be dedicated to rehearsals and securing travel arrangements for the festival.
“We’re very excited,” Johnson says. “The way it looks now, we’re probably going to want to make this part of our future moving forward. It’s neat seeing it all starting to come together.”
But those nine students aren’t the only Carroll musicians to make it to the festival. The Carroll Middle School wind ensemble also submitted a recording in the spring and found out that they too will perform at the festival.
“This is a first for me professionally,” Bethni Lown, Carroll Middle School Band Director, says. “It’s always exciting to be recognized on a national stage. We’re breaking some new ground going forward. It’s a new chapter for the program for sure.”
Johnson says he and Lown just came back from a walk-through in Indiana and will dedicate the next few months to rehearsals and securing travel arrangements. The 2020 Music For All National Chamber Festival will run from March 12 to 14 in Indianapolis, IN. To learn more about the program and its lineup, go online at MusicForAll.com.