On Tuesday, Feb. 11, Keokuk Middle School Band students participated in the solo/ensemble music festival at KMS. Events were given a rating of I for a “superior” performance, II for an “excellent” performance and special recognitions of “Outstanding Performance.” KMS had 24 events total that evening. The Keokuk students were well prepared and represented KMS with dedication, pride, and musicianship. KMS Band Director, Krystal Bottorff along with KHS Band Director, Jesse Deese and volunteer, Boone Hunt, worked with these students to prepare this music during our second semester. Accompanists were Carolyn Brown and Debbie Spears. Judges for the event were Woodie Brassil, retired band director and school counselor, Karen Weirather, current elementary art and music teacher in Warsaw, Illinois, and Emily Otte, 5-12 band director from Holy Trinity School in West Point, Iowa.
Events this year were performed in the KMS band room, cafeteria and the choir room which were all open to in-person attendance. Our audiences were wonderful, supportive and greatly appreciated. Thank you to all who were able to attend!
Of the 24 events, four were recognized as “outstanding performances” along with the rating of a I+. Those events received gold stars on the “wall of fame” as well as another star with varying colors. All other events receiving either a I+ also received stars of various colors on the “wall of fame.” Nine events received the rating of a I+ (including the four outstanding performances). Nine events received I’s and three events received I-‘s. One event received the rating of a II+ and two events received a rating of a II.
Events receiving “outstanding performance” awards were the piano solo of Sam Higbie; snare drum duet of Lydia Bailey and Kaylee Johnson; mixed duet of Maddy Flickinger and Avery Totten; and the mixed quintet of Peyson Reed, Wilhelm Mossengren, Whitley Page, JJ Stevens and Blessing Takorbisong. All “outstanding” events also each received a I+ rating. The other events that received I+ ratings were the snare drum trio of Gavin Claus, Savin Langenwalter and Josiah Mott; mixed trio of Olivia Cochenour, Sam Higbie, and Bentlee Glasgow; mixed duet of Olivia Cochenour and Hannah Rippenkroeger; the Reeds Choir ad the Low Brass Choir.
Events receiving the rating of I were the trumpet duet of Dustin Curtis and Zoltan Szalma; mixed quintet of Jordan Mendez, Connor Fountain, Gunnar Glover, Bentlee Glasgow and Kyan Campbell; flute duet of Ellie Cook and Zoey Asbury-Frey; mixed quartet of Ryder Szalma, Dustin Curtis, Zephyr Soice and Zoltan Szalma; mixed trio of Essence Tate, Alayna Surprenant and Ezza Matlick; Sixth Grade Honor Band mixed choir; Flute Choir: High Brass Choir and Percussion Ensemble.
Events receiving the rating of I- were the timpani solo of Jackson Rose; mixed duet of Layla Geers and Sophie Burns; and flute trio of Aubree Chapman, Gaia McKay and Silus Huston. One mixed trio of Emmett Malone, Michael Schneider and Simon Gordon received the rating of II+. Two events receiving the rating of a II were the flute and clarinet duet of Laylah Bennett and Eleanor Foulk and the mixed trio of Eliana Nichols, Olivia Swindler and Cheyanna Turpin.
KMS Band Director, Krystal Bottorff would like to thank the many parents, community members, staff members, and students who all pitched in with various jobs to make this event possible! Also essential to the success of the event were our judges, accompanists and our KMS administrators, Jim Short and Amanda Mason. A special thank you to our custodial staff for their extra efforts with this event as well!
