Amanda Jones - Valdez City Schools

Valdez middle and high school music students performed in local and regional ensembles at the annual regional music festival, this year hosted at Anchorage Christian School (ACS). Of the 14 students who participated, 11 of them qualified to participate in the Alaska Solo and Ensemble Competition at the state level, which will be hosted at University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) in May.

Over the two and a half days of the festival, students performed solos for judges, competed against other bands and choirs in the region, and joined together with students from the region to make region-wide bands and choirs. Matt Wadsworth, a chaperone for the trip related, “I had no idea. Those kids were busy! They were making music from 8am every morning until after 10pm every night.”

Rehearsals, evaluations, and a concert to end each evening filled the event schedule from Thursday, April 13 until Saturday, April 15. The concert Friday night featured students who were awarded the highest “Command Performance” honor. Command Performance is awarded to students with the highest scores for each solo category. Alina Kockentiet, a student from Valdez performing “How Great Thou Art” as a vocal solo was awarded this high honor.

During the Command Performance concert, performing in front of a gym packed with peers, and music directors from throughout the state, which was also being streamed live, Kockentiet’s accompaniment track cut out unexpectedly. When ACS’s tech and sound workers could not fix the problem, Kockentiet continued singing as if nothing had gone amiss.

Seeking to help the solo performer, Holly Morookian, Music Director at ACS, approached Kockentiet after the first verse of her song to receive the microphone and usher her off stage, but Kockentiet waved her away and continued on with the 2nd and then 3rd verses of her song a capella, The end of each verse was met with thunderous applause. Not until her song was complete did Kockentiet offer a confident bow. “Wow, that took some real poise,” Morookian later commented.

“I just really wanted to finish my solo and do my best,” Kockentiet said about her performance. She and 11 others will have the chance to perform their solos for judges again in May, this time competing with students across the state. A Command Performance will similarly be awarded with winners invited to perform in evening concerts during the May event.

For the ending concert, Saturday afternoon, students from schools in the region combined to make five large ensembles that performed for each other. The largest group consisted of 167 band members, with a staggering number of 28 playing trumpet alone. Students Alina Kockentiet and Emory Disney were also honored with 1st Chair Awards for submitting the highest-scoring auditions for their regional groups. Disney received this for clarinet and Kockentiet for Soprano 1.

For 10 of the 15 Valdez students this was their first time participating in the regional event. To prepare, students performed their prepared music for local Valdez musicians Jorge Arciniega, Gigi Obren, Dr. Kathy Todd, and Jamie Winchester before the event. Special thanks to our local judges volunteering their time to come help students prepare and hear them perform.

The festival rotates host schools every year. Last year the event was hosted in Cordova, after being canceled the previous year because of the pandemic. Valdez has been requested to host the event in the near future and students in Valdez expressed enthusiasm at the idea. Upon loading the bus to leave on Saturday, Clara Juleen, a Valdez student at the event for the first time, reflected, “My feet are killing me, and I’m so tired. But, you know, I’m actually really going to miss this place.”

I want to give a special note of appreciation to all chaperones on the trip, Matt Wadsworth, Rylee Ownbey, Ann Norris, and Dennis Humphrey. Thank you for all your efforts keeping students organized and encouraged. And thanks to all the chaperones, as well as Jamie Winchester and Ann Norris for providing their excellent music expertise and accompaniment for students, even at the last minute.

And for moving and removing pianos and percussion in and out of vans and up and down stairs relentlessly and without complaint. The event would not have been a success without all the help provided. You are all amazing.

Amanda Jones is the band and choir teacher for the Valdez Middle and High schools.

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