The Seventh and Eighth Grade District III Honors Music Festival was held on April 10 and 11 at Hall-Dale High School. Wiscasset had three students taking part in this special event.

To be accepted into the festival, students had to formally audition. Auditions were held in early November. Accepted into the band was Lily Souza on clarinet. Accepted into the chorus were Abbigail Connors, soprano; and Olivia Peaslee, soprano.

Students practiced the selected music during the weeks leading up to the festival and then joined students from many other District III schools to rehearse throughout the days. Conducting the festival were two distinguished Maine music educators, Jay Nelson (chorus) and Caitlyn Ramsey (band).

The concert began with the Seventh and Eighth Grade Honors Festival Chorus. They performed four pieces. “Dies Irate” (Day of Wrath) from Requiem (D. Farrell Smith) with its contrasting sections was the opening piece. Next in the program was a heartfelt performance of the traditional “Ha Shalom.” (Translation: Peace shall be for all the world. All the world shall be for peace.) This piece also featured music educator Carol Preston on the violin.

The program continued with “Thistle and Rose,” a stirring and proud selection celebrating the unity between Scotland (Thistle) and England (Rose). The last choral piece was “Can You Hear?” (Jim Papoulis), from the project called “Sounds of a Better World” — a series of songs focusing on children and how to improve their world. This also featured instrumentalists on bass guitar (Genevieve Thomas), cello (Karen Jung) and percussion (Anne-Marie D’Amico and Gary Fuller).

The Festival Band then treated the audience to four amazing pieces, beginning with the spirited “Russian Sailor’s Dance”(Reinhold Gliere). Following that was “Our Kingsland Spring” (Samuel Hazo), with a majestic flowing melody. The audience then enjoyed the familiar melodies of a march entitled “Brighton Camp” (R. Standridge). The last selection was a favorite among the band members, “Escape from the Deep” (Brian Balmages), apiece, which chronicled the World War II miracle involving the only Americans to ever escape from a sunken submarine.

Both of the festival ensembles received a standing ovation — a true testament to the continued community support of music education in the public schools. Wiscasset Middle School students and staff are proud of the talented musicians who represented the school and performed at this important festival.