On Saturday, January 27, students from all over the county graced the stage at Government Thomas Johnson High School for the all-county choir, orchestra, and band performances.
The passion and hard work that was put into the performance over the last month was on full display.
Rehearsals were led by various instructors and teachers from different schools in the county in preparation prior to professional conductors leading the final rehearsals and performance.
Each ensemble had a professional conductor come in with Heidi Ackerman for choir, James Woomert for Orchestra and Dr. Mark McCoy for band.
Linganore sophomore Ava Williamson, who was conducted by Dr. Mark McCoy, spoke on what it was like being conducted by a professional and how it helped her and her peers.
“They [the piece selections] were a good challenge, but then I got to the point where I could play them,” Ava said. “The conductor was great; he taught us a lot of different methods to make sure the pieces were more emotional.”
Dr. Mark Mccoy, composer, conductor and professor, has worked with highschoolers for around 35 years. He shared the importance of not taking it easy on highschoolers.
“I have lots of experience doing these kinds of ensembles,” Dr Mark Mccoy said. “These guys were particularly good, they were very well prepared, they had excellent rehearsal ethic, and it’s my opinion that people will rise to the challenge you put before them.”
Beyond the musical challenges, students encountered additional obstacles in their involvement in all-county performances, including various delays in the rehearsal schedules. Despite this, they were able to come together in the two weeks leading up to the performance and put on a wonderful performance.
Junior Magnus Maglente, a member of the all-county choir, spoke about his preparation for the performance and how he thought the piece turned out.
“They just said to go over it at home and listen to the music,” Magnus said. “I’ve done a couple performances, and this was the most relaxed, I’d say it was less stressful because we were so prepared, and yeah, it was probably one of my best performances.”
A big part of all-county is the audition process in which students will be given a piece of music to learn beforehand. When they get to the audition, they have to peform the piece they learned, a random selection of scales and a short sight-reading challenge in which they have to play something they have never seen before.
Maglente talked about his audition process and how Linganore music teacher Damon Dye helped him prepare.
“I was nominated by him to be in the All-County and All-State Choir,” Maglente said. “He also helped me practice the audition pieces each week after school. I owe my success to him!”
Some students will not have much of a break as All-State choir, band and orchestra will start up in the next couple of months. More information on dates for the all-state performances can be found on the Maryland Music Educators Association website.
