State Solo and Ensemble

By Gavin Rhodes, Katie Bergeland, Betsabe Ramos | 4/21/23

On March 4th 2023, Oregon High School hosted the Wisconsin School Music Association (WMSA) District Solo and Ensemble Festival where students from Oregon high school and middle school as well as students from districts in the surrounding area had a chance to perform a piece of music for a judge.  

The Solo and Ensemble festival was open to band, choir, and orchestra students. Students selected a piece arranged for a solo instrument/voice, or with a small ensemble from a list of approved pieces. Pieces are classified by difficulty with A being the hardest and B and C class pieces being simpler.

When the students performed their piece in front of the judges at the district festival, they gave the performers feedback and a rating on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the best. Students who earned a 1 and played a class A piece are eligible for the State Solo and Ensemble festival at UW-Platteville on April 29th. Several Oregon students qualified for the State Festival and we had a chance to sit down with 6 of the students and ask them about their musical journey and what it takes to qualify for the state-wide music festival.

As mentioned, middle school and high school students are encouraged to participate in this state wide music festival and we had the pleasure to talk with freshman Caroline Canney about her experience. When asked what the process was like in preparation for Solo and Ensemble, she answered “It wasn’t too bad”. She continued with, “It was hard to balance all of my other musical commitments… it was busy but good and it was lots of practice”. Furthermore, she mentioned she had been playing the violin since kindergarten. She stated her inspiration came from seeing “some people playing [the violin] at a recital of my brother’s and I just thought they were really cool”.  Another underclassmen we got to interview is freshmen Lia Wochenske as she is going to State for her vocal performance. When asked about how she felt as she performed, Wochenske stated, “I've been performing for a very long time, and I still get nervous every performance I have. It's gotten much more manageable over the years, to the point where it doesn't affect my performance too much”. Although she is performing vocally on April 29th, Lia also performed “in multiple events including a Clarinet Choir, and a performance from the Oregon Drumming Ensemble”. Having underclassmen participate in such a prestigious event is a great thing to witness and it shows that you are never too young (or old) to share your musical talents.

In addition to the immense amount of practicing it takes to prepare their pieces, it all comes down to the 10 minutes you are in front of the judge. Depending on the musician, it can be quite nerve racking performing in the heat of the moment. To find out more about this, we had the chance to talk to senior AJ Stoffels and junior Aaron Deiter. AJ is a vocalist who has been involved in many special performances including lead roles in recent OHS musicals. AJ has had the opportunity to go to state her Junior year of High School with her choir group. She has been singing for all of her life, since as long as she can remember. Aaron has been playing percussion since 5th grade and has qualified for state Solo and Ensemble festivals every year since 7th grade. Discussing the topic with her, Stoffels said, “It was exhilarating to perform. I am used to performing in an auditorium in front of an audience, so it was a little bit nerve racking to be in a more intimate environment with the judge and a few family members/friends and my choir director watching me.”  

Last year at state Aaron Dieter found himself in a similar situation. He received the exemplary performance award for his performance which very few participants receive. It is very impressive to receive such an award, however it can become a double-edged sword in future years. According to Aaron, “There was more pressure [this year] when you perform after receiving the exemplary performance award in years past because you know what you were capable of in the past. However, you can’t be too disappointed if you don’t get something like that because you have to not just play it well but rather completely wow the judge to receive this award.” 

It is clear that performing at the state level for solo and ensemble festivals takes a lot of preparation and experience performing for a judge. This can be intimidating to younger musicians who may be wanting to participate in the District of State Solo and Ensemble festival in the future. We had the chance to talk to senior Abbey Sargent who qualified for 3 events with violin and clarinet this year for the state festival. She would like to tell younger musicians considering participating in Solo and Ensemble festivals in the future to “Have fun with it and see it as an opportunity. Perform what you want and with people you want. An opportunity to support your friends and get personal feedback. It is a very low pressure situation since it is not a concert or big audition. It is just an experience playing for a judge and receiving feedback.” 

AJ Stoffels also spoke, saying, “Make sure to ground yourself before your performance! Once the judge gives you the go-ahead, don't feel like you have to begin right away, take a second to breathe and remember your techniques before queuing your accompanist,  starting your tracks, etc. Take your time, they love to see it!”

All in all, it has taken a lot of practice and hard work to be able to perform at the State Solo and Ensemble festival. From beginners just picking up the instrument for the first time, to performing college and professional level repertoire anyone that has the passion and commitment to music can make it to the state festival.