Darien Folk Music Festival at DHS on June 3!!

Posted on May 21, 2013 by rsadlon

Music for Youth & Darien Public School Music Department

Proudly presents

2013 Darien Folk Music Festival 

Monday June 3rd, 7:00pm DHS Auditorium

Free of Charge, but ticket* is required

Doors open at 6:30 

Featuring Singing, Clog Dancing and Fiddling from the

 Award-Winning Quartet 

Mountain Quickstep

Special Guest Stars include Darien School Students from all grade levels performing Folk Music Classics and Originals

Mountain Quick Step featuring fiddle playing vocalist Sara Milonovich with be performing at Darien HS on June 3 at 7:00 p.m.

*Free tickets can be obtained from Guiliano’s Music Center,

 Nielsens’ Florist and Darien High School Message Center or Music Office

For more information 203-655-3981 ext 2250

 

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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BEGINNING BAND REGISTRATION DATES ANNOUNCED!!

Posted on May 15, 2013 by rsadlon

The Darien Public Schools Announces Elementary Band Recruiting Evenings

All current third and fourth grade students in the Darien Public Schools who wish to begin learning a band instrument in the fall of this year are invited and encouraged to attend one of the beginning band informational evening meetings to be held at their respective schools. An explanation of our exciting and rewarding band program, instrument demonstrations, rental program information, and class registrations for fall 2013 will take place at this time. All interested students entering 4th or 5th grade in the fall are eligible to begin band instrument instructions. All students attending these sessions must be accompanied by an adult. Information regarding these meeting will also be distributed to students in their respective schools.

If you have any questions regarding the elementary band program in the Darien Public Schools, please see the Band teacher at your elementary school or call the District Music Office at: 655-3981 ext: 2250

2013 Registration Dates:

Tuesday, May 21 -      Tokeneke School 

In the Tokeneke School Common Room – at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, May 22 -  Holmes School

In the Holmes School Common Room – at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, May 22 -  Royle School

In the Royle School Auditorium – at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 23 -  Hindley School

In the Hindley School Common Room – at 7:00 p.m

Thursday, May 23 -  Ox Ridge School

In the Ox Ridge School Common Room – at 7:00 p.m.

 

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Darien HS Orchestra Wins Top Awards at NYC Music Festival

Posted on April 30, 2013 by rsadlon

 

The Darien High School Orchestra achieved a first place rating at the Heritage Music Festival in New York City on April 27!!

The Music Department is pleased to announce that the Darien High School Orchestra won 1st place Gold in the String Orchestra 3A Category at the 2013 Heritage Festival in New York City on Saturday, April 27.  In addition, Ryo Usami (violin) and Jeff Gebauer (cello) won Maestro Awards for their solo performances in two of the selections, Shenandoah and Hoedown from Rodeo.

The Orchestra students represented Darien well in this competition and festival.  They were performing against student ensembles from all across the U.S. as well as Canada and Perth, Australia.

Congratulations to DHS Orchestra Director, Ms. Jane Minnis and the entire Darien High School orchestra for their outstanding performance.

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Darien HS Bands and Choruses Receive Numerous Awards at Virginia Beach Festival!

Posted on April 24, 2013 by rsadlon

Congratulations to our bands and choirs on their performances in the Festivals of Music at Virginia Beach this past week.  Our Jazz Band and Tudor Singers both placed first in their divisions with ratings of Superior and also won awards for the best overall ensembles in their categories.  Our Concert Band placed first in their division with a rating of Excellent, and our Wind Ensemble and Concert Choir both placed second in their divisions with ratings of Excellent.  Additionally, the saxophone section of the Jazz Band won a special award for Outstanding Section in a Jazz Ensemble.  We congratulate our music students, who were stellar representatives of Darien High School and the Darien community throughout the entire trip.  The awards and scoresheets are on display in the DHS Auditorium lobby area.

The Darien High School vocal ensembles are directed by Christopher Andrade and the bands are directed by Jonathan Grauer.

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Chanticleer Youth Choral Festival at Darien High School

Posted on April 10, 2013 by rsadlon
Chanticleer performs at Darien High School on April 9, 2013.

This gallery contains 2 photos.

Darien High School was the site of the 2013 Chanticleer Youth Choral Festival featuring the world-renowned, Grammy Award winning vocal group Chanticleer from San Francisco. Called “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker magazine, and named Ensemble of … Continue reading →

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Darien Students Honored at Statewide Arts Banquet

Posted on April 9, 2013 by rsadlon

Two students from Darien High School were recently honored at a state-wide banquet for their outstanding accomplishments in the arts. Joseph Haddad (visual arts) and William Trautmann (music/performing arts) represented Darien High School and were the recipients of awards given at the event which was held on April 1 at the Aqua-Turf Club located in Southington, CT. Over 140 high schools from throughout Connecticut were represented at the banquet. The event featured guest speakers from the Connecticut State Department of Education, was sponsored by Jostens and organized by the Connecticut Association of Schools.

Joseph Haddad and William Trautmann are the DHS recipients of the 2013 Connecicut Association of Schools Outstanding Arts Award.

Congratulations to our well-deserved recipients.

Pictured L-R:   Joseph Haddad, William Trautmann

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DHS Violinist Ryo Usami to Perform in All-Eastern Orchestra!!

Posted on April 3, 2013 by rsadlon

Darien High School Music Student Performs in All-Eastern Honors Ensemble

The Music Department of the Darien Public Schools is proud to announce that Darien High School student, Ryo Usami, was selected to perform in the National Association for Music Education’s All-Eastern Division Honors Orchestra. Ryo Usami, a senior violinist was selected as part of a small number of students from the state to represent Connecticut at the Eastern Division Music Conference held in Harford on April 4-7.  The Darien student joined other top music students from throughout the Eastern United States to form Honors Ensembles that were conducted by nationally recognized conductors.  Ryo Usami is a member of the Darien High School Orchestra conducted by Jane Minnis. He has performed in the Connecticut All-State Orchestra in previous years, was the concertmaster or the ensemble last year and has the distinction of receiving the highest score of all of the violinists in the state. According to Darien Public Schools Director of Music, Richard Sadlon, “This is one of the highest achievements that can be awarded to high school musicians, and we are very fortunate and proud to have Ryo Usami representing Darien in this national level ensemble.”

Ryo states, “It’s an honor to be representing Darien and the state of Connecticut in the All-Eastern Honors Orchestra.  I’m excited to perform on the violin with the highest level high school musicians from the East Coast.  This achievement is the culmination of my musical education.  I’d like to thank all of my teachers for preparing me and giving me the opportunity to participate in this event.” The festival will conclude with the All-Eastern Honors Ensemble Concerts held at the Bushnell Auditorium in Hartford at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 7.

Ryo Usami, DHS violinist, has been chosen to perform in the All-Eastern Honors orchestra on April 7 in Hartford.

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The Music Department of the Darien Public Schools is proud to announce that 17 Band, Chorus and Jazz Ensemble students from Middlesex Middle School were chosen to participate in the 2013 Connecticut Western Region Music Festival. The students were chosen to perform in the festival based on their competitive audition scores and recommendations and they earned the privilege of performing in honors ensembles with some of the best middle school musicians in Western Connecticut conducted by renowned conductors and educators. The festival is sponsored by the Connecticut Music Educators Association and took place at Western Connecticut State University on March 22-23. Congratulations to all of our accomplished young musicians!

Pictured:

Middlesex Middle School Music Students were selected to perform in the 2013 CT Western region Honors Music Festival.

Ethan Stansbury-chorus (top step), Avery Brook-chorus, Caroline Lacy-chorus, Thomas Cortellesi-chorus, Jana Powers-chorus, Addison Stauffer-chorus, Olivia Fordyce-chorus, Christina Chao-Concert band, Logan Book-chorus, Holm Roeser-chorus, Katie Cunningham-chorus, Arija Forsyth-chorus, Lilah Foster-chorus, Catherine Gorey-chorus, Luke Uhlman-jazz, Austin Won-concert band (first step), *missing from photo: Claire Phelps (concert band)

Posted on March 27, 2013 by rsadlon | Comments Off

Darien High School All-State Musicians to Perform in Hartford

Posted on March 26, 2013 by rsadlon

Ten outstanding musicians from Darien High School were chosen through a highly competitive state-wide audition process to perform at the Connecticut Music Educators Association All-State Music Festival. The rehearsals for the festival will be taking place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cromwell, CT and the concerts will take place at Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford on April 2-4. The Connecticut All-State Concert will serve as the opening performance for the 2013 National Association for Music Education Eastern Division Conference. The Darien students will have the privilege of working in ensembles with Connecticut’s most accomplished high school musicians conducted by nationally renowned conductors and educators.   Richard Sadlon, the Director of Music in Darien states that, “These students have consistently worked and studied their music over the years in order to been chosen as among the finest high school musicians in Connecticut. We are all extremely proud of their accomplishments and they are to be commended and recognized for doing such a fine job of representing Darien High School and our entire town at this prestigious event.” Congratulations to all!!

The 2013 Darien All-State Music students are: Sonya Gandhi, mallets, Danika Hornick, French horn, Amanda Sload, baritone saxophone, Nicole Gagne, viola, Matt Hayes, bass, Reed Morgan, tenor, Doug Phipps, tenor, Lily Saffa, soprano, Peter Traver, bass, and Melanie Turner, soprano.

Darien High School will send 10 outstanding musicians to the 2013 Connecticut Music Educators All-State Music Festival.

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Middlesex Students Perform in Fairfield County String Festival

Posted on March 14, 2013 by rsadlon

On March 1-2 the Fairfield County String Teachers Association sponsored their 39th annual String Festival for select students in grades six through nine.  Based on teacher recommendations and competitive auditions, Sara Baldwin, Talmage Lindsey , Ben Zhao, Rebekah Lindsey, John Selkowitz, Candace Wang and Wen Yan Toh were chosen to represent Darien at this year’s honors festival. The conductors for the festival were Daniel Lon of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Mary Ann Meade from Mt. Pleasantville, NY and David Gilbert of the Greenwich Symphony orchestra. The event was hosted by Western Connecticut State University and featured guest soloist Gary Capiziello. Students and educators from seventeen Fairfield County school systems were represented at the festival.

Pictured: (photo provided by Mr. Karlan)

String students from Middlesex Middle School perform in the 2013 Fairfield County String Festival

Front row, left to right:  Wen Yan Toh, Talmage Lindsey, John Selkowitz

Back row, left to right:  Candice Wang, Sara Baldwin, Ben Zhao

Not pictured: Rebekah Lindsey (she was accepted to the festival, but couldn’t attend…)

 

 

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