Over the Easter break, the Bishop O'Connell High School music program headed to Gatlinburg, Tenn. to participate in the Smoky Mountain Music Festival. In addition to rehearsals and performances, the group was able to take in a few area attractions, including a dinner theater and a trip to Dollywood amusement park. The music festival brought high school ensembles from a variety of states to perform in front of an adjudication panel composed of university music directors and music professional.
Awards -In the choral competition, the O'Connell Singers select women's ensemble received first place and a rating of superior. The concert choir earned a second place with a rating of excellent. For the instrumental competition, O'Connell's jazz band and the combined symphonic/concert band received first place, and the string orchestra was awarded a second place. All three ensembles earned a rating of excellent.
Special recognition was given to Bradan McBurney '17 and Jaime Jarauta-Gastelu '20 for their violin solos with the string orchestra, to Ava Coffin '18 for her vocal solo with the jazz band, to Domenic Allegra '17 for his band solo on flugelhorn, and to Mark Brown '20 for his piano accompaniment of the concert choir.
"Our students gave stellar performances and the O'Connell music program is thrilled to have had this opportunity," said Choral Director Peter Kadeli. "We are grateful to our wonderful chaperones and fine arts boosters who continue to support our programs and who made this trip possible."
Helping Others - In anticipation of this trip, the O'Connell group took the opportunity to raise funds to assist victims of the November 2016 wildfires in the area that resulted in several deaths and the loss of thousands of homes. Spearheaded by Ava Coffin '18, the students raised more than $1,700, which they presented to Rev. Anthony Punnackal, the pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Gatlinburg, which is still assisting 19 families who lost everything in the fires.
