By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Fourteen hours of rehearsals over two days added up to an amazing night of performances in Juneau for 26 Sitka musicians last week at Southeast Honor Music Festival, reports Sitka High School music teacher Mike Kernin.
“Between band and choir, there were 100 kids, so we were represented well, certainly for a school of our size,” Kernin said.
High school musicians in Southeast turn in audition recordings to be selected for the band, choir and orchestra. Sitka had 16 students in the band, and 10 in the choir at the festival, held Oct. 20-22 at Thunder Mountain High School in Juneau.
The festival, known informally as “honorfest,” has been held annually over some 50 years, hosted by a different Southeast community each year.
“For me the importance of it is to allow kids who are excelling in their instruments to get recognition, for their hard work and for being good at what they do,” Kernin said. “It’s that next level of musicianship, and being with kids who are also good at what they do.”
The musicians also work with Honorfest clinicians and a conductor to hone techniques and learn new skills. The kids were also treated to a concert by the Juneau Symphony.
Sitka High students who traveled to Juneau last week for the Southeast Honor Music Festival. (Photo provided)
Trombone player Angelo Elefante, a freshman, said he was pleased to have been selected for the band, but said he wasn’t used to the longer practices and some very challenging material, in particular a piece called “Hounds of Spring,” by Alfred Reed.
His favorite part? “Meeting new people, and the director was really nice so it was quite an experience,” said Angelo, who has been playing trombone since fifth grade.
Another freshman, Tyler Adres, was the youngest in the alto saxophone section in the band.
“I was really overwhelmed,” he said. He said he was grateful to Kernin for helping him get his audition together, and was surprised to have been selected.
Tyler’s cousin, Kristine Banh, played saxophone at Sitka High and currently is at the University of New Mexico.
“I was texting her about it; she was really happy for me, it was a really big deal,” Tyler said. He said he worked hard on the music leading up to the festival, and although his family couldn’t attend the event in Juneau, they watched it on the Facebook livestream.
Kiana Belcher, 16, made her third trip to the event, playing alto sax. She said she learned a lot this year from the conductor, who worked with the group on improving their skills.
What did she learn at the event?
“I think I got better at sight-reading, and I probably got better at reading in six-eight (time). We haven’t done much of six-eight in band,” she said.
She also picked the nine-minute “Hounds of Spring” as her favorite among the selection of new music they learned.
“A lot of it was crazy-fast, and it took the most time to prepare,” she said.
Kiana and fellow musician Alli Christner, 16, said they were glad to have additional help from Roger Schmidt, musician and the director of the Fine Arts Camp, who worked with the Sitka musicians in the morning to help them prepare.
“It took a lot of practice to help us understand the music,” Kiana said.
Alli, a junior who plays clarinet, said the director was “very informative and very helpful.”
“It was a very good Honorfest this year,” she said. “Roger came in and helped us practice music for 30 minutes to an hour every day in the weeks leading up to the trip. I felt very confident going to the festival, more than I have than in the past. I think we all felt very prepared.”
Their work ahead of time, and over the two days of “morning to night practice” in Juneau, paid off with a solid concert at the end of Tuesday.
“It was a great choice of music for choir, band and orchestra,” Alli said.
She was glad her friends from Juneau were able to attend.
“It was awesome to have them there for support,” she said.
