The Grant County High School Jazz Ensemble: Featured Performers at the 2016 KMEA State Conference!
The Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA) has a
long-standing tradition of fostering excellence in music education for
Kentucky’s students. It is KMEA who
sanctions and establishes guidelines for band and choir assessment festivals at
regional and state levels, solo and ensemble assessment events for individual
and small group performers, select and honors music programs, all-state band
and choir programs, and Kentucky’s Marching Band phenomenon. At
the hub of all this activity is KMEA’s annual conference which is held in
February each year.
The KMEA State Conference is a 4-day professional
development event for music educators and a showcase extravaganza for music students. Each year outstanding individual music students
are invited to audition for all-state bands and choirs which meet, practice,
and perform at the annual conference under the direction of renowned guest
conductors. Also selected by audition
are a limited number of ensembles (just 28 state-wide, from elementary –
college) who are invited for “featured performances” during the conference.
This year, we are very excited that the Grant County High
School Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Mr. Andrew McGrannahan, was
selected for one of the coveted “featured performance events”! This is a unique and very prestigious honor
for the Grant County music program.
Grant County’s Jazz Ensemble, comprised of 19 high school students,
utilizes the already award-winning musicians (having won the AAAA State
Marching Band Competition this fall) and challenges them even further. Dr. Ron Livingood, former music educator and
current Superintendent of Grant County Schools touts the individual and
collective musicianship of this group of students. He states, “Their performances consistently
demonstrate a knowledge of improvisation and a work ethic that is well beyond
their young ages. The KMEA attendees are
in for a treat!” The Jazz Ensemble will perform on Thursday,
February 4, 2016, at 4:25 pm.
Members of the GCHS Jazz Ensemble are:
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Nathan Witte, alto sax
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Chris Collopy, trumpet
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Josh Caldwell, trombone
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Cat Haggard, alto sax
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Kenzie Evans, trumpet
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Rachel Hornsby, trombone
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Marcie Walker, tenor sax
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Colton Beach, trumpet
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Jordan Newman, trombone
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Bri Boulware, tenor sax
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Alan Simpson, trumpet
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Josh Blackburn, bass trombone
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Dylan Tutorow, bari sax
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Connor Morgan, trumpet
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Caleb Caldwell, drums
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Jaclyn Fitzgerald, bass
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Ally Michels, trumpet
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Wyatt Newman, guitar
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Anderson Schimpff, piano
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Also performing this year in the All-State High School
Chorus will be three of our senior choir students:
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| Sam Carey-Fulton (Tenor) | Annelise Kinsey (Alto) | Nathan Witte (Bass) |
This marks the 7th all-state performance for Miss
Kinsey, the 2nd for Mr. Carey-Fulton, and the 1st for Mr.
Witte, a first-year chorus student at GCHS.
These students will join their voices with those of other outstanding
vocalists from throughout the state to study and perform challenging works for
rather discerning audiences. Present at all of the events will be music professors from
colleges and universities throughout the state who are looking to tap into the
talent pool garnered by KMEA, and will then work to attract these young
musicians to their respective programs upon graduation from high school. Our talented high school students are the products of
diligent and dedicated music educators throughout our district. Our music educators are: Mr. Jonathan Creech, CMZ; Mrs. Elsa Blake,
DRE; Miss Caitlin Pillow, MCE; Mr. Stephen Parker, SES; Ms. Jessica Proffitt,
Chorus-GCMS; Mr. Andrew McGrannahan II, Band-GCMS; Mrs. Faith Clifton,
Chorus-GCHS; and Dr. Timothy Dailey, Director of Bands-GCHS. We are most excited to showcase the Grant County music
program at this most highly regarded event! |