Four Chimacum High School student musicians achieved distinction as soloists at the Washington State Music Educators Solo and Ensemble Contest at Central Washington University in …
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Four Chimacum High School student musicians achieved distinction as soloists at the Washington State Music Educators Solo and Ensemble Contest at Central Washington University in Ellensburg on April 27.
CHS junior Hayden Montgomery finished third among the state’s best multi-percussion soloists. His rendition of “Rebonds B” by Iannis Xenakis earned perfect scores from two judges and a near-perfect score from a third judge to secure third-place honors.
“It was terrifying, nerve wracking, and amazing all at the same time,” Montgomery said. “It’s always so fulfilling after working on a piece for months and months, and then being able to perform it.”
Chimacum band director Gavin Knowles said, “Hayden showed a level of musicality that is not present in a lot of students his age.”
Montgomery and three other CHS student musicians advanced to state competition by winning the North Olympic Regional Solo and Ensemble Contest in Port Angeles in February.
In Ellensburg, they competed against the finest musicians from the state’s other 21 regions. The other competitors from Chimacum achieved good scores but did not place in the top three statewide.
Chimacum senior James Van Otten, an alto saxophonist, played “Aria” by Eugene Bozza. “My performance was fine,” Van Otten said, “but it could have been better.” Van Otten noted his “very new” reed “didn’t play how I wanted.”
“James put in a lot of work in the last couple months to prepare for state,” said Knowles. “He has a lot to be proud of and has a bright future ahead of him.”
Another Chimacum senior, timpanist Timothy Heemstra, performed “The Storm” by Mitchell Peters. “It wasn’t my best,” Heemstra said. “I was a little nervous going into it. Overall, it wasn’t terrible, but I definitely could have done better.”
Knowles recognized Heemstra’s progress, however: “Timothy showed a lot of growth from when he played ‘The Storm’ at regionals.”
Rounding out Chimacum’s state-qualifying performers, sophomore snare drummer Steven Woolbright played a varied and challenging solo, “Frenzy” by Michael Varner.
Judges rate students based on their technical proficiency, musicality, and the difficulty of the pieces they chose to perform.
Overall, competing at state “was a great experience,” said Van Otten.
