OSWEGO, NY – The Oswego Middle School String Orchestra once again earned “Grand Champion†status at the Darien Lake Music Festival competition at Six Flags Darien Lake.
Sixty-four string players from OMS performed three pieces for an enthusiastic audience which included two judges.
There were choruses, bands, and orchestras from throughout Central and Western New York State including Liverpool, Nazareth, Bishop Kearney, Merryville, and Amherst.
More than 60 groups performed at the festival including elementary, middle, and senior high groups.
The OMS String Orchestra competed against several orchestras and was awarded a ‘Superior’ rating and a first place trophy for having the highest score in their division.
The String Orchestra was also awarded the “Grand Champions†trophy for their combined score of 99.4 out of a possible 100 points; the highest score in the park that day.
The “Grand Champion†award is given to the group that has the highest score of all the orchestras, bands, and choruses regardless of what age group or level they perform at.
This is the third time that the OMS Orchestra has been awarded the “Grand Champion†Trophy.
The predominant comments by the judges were that this group performed with ‘a rich, full sound with outstanding expression and style.’ They were impressed with the OMS Orchestra’s large number of string students and their ability to play with ‘unusually mature interpretation.’
Director, Miss Debbie Mazurek, said, “I am very proud of my students not only for their outstanding performance, but for representing Oswego with their excellent behavior, supportive character and teamwork. The trophies are just the icing on the cake. The goal is excellence on every level, and the Oswego Middle School String Orchestra, achieved that.â€
Continuing she said, “We owe a lot of credit to all the music teachers in the Oswego City School District, as well as the faculty and staff at Oswego Middle School. We had many parent and former-student chaperones that assisted in every aspect of the day we went to perform.â€
Members of the orchestra included playing Violin I Danielle Benigno, Josh Dumas, Holly Gilbert, Mallory Gordon, Emily Hurlbutt, Hailey Ihlow, Brooke Krassowski, Shannon McIntosh, Reilly Patrick, Kaylee Baldwin, Gabriela Castiglia, Andrew Hook, Mayraliz Lopez, Karl Mosbo, Angela Rookey, Mariel Schickling and Ryan Smith.
Participating in Violin 2 were Andrea Ferreira, Casey Adner, Madison Collins, Kaylee Conner, Hannah Fitzgerald, Olivia Frazier, Alivia Grimshaw, Anna Guinta, Becky Kelly, Chelsea Legates, Meghan LiVoti, Morgan Mulkerin, Monica Randall, Johnna Scruton, Jessie Murray, Rose DeStevens, Jacob Hansel, Julia Lavery, Nicholas Lewis, Chelsea MacDougall, Chloe Patterson, Christopher Sullivan, Andrew Thompson and Benjamin Whelsky.
Playing Viola were Garrett Dunsmoor, Kyle Collins, Betsy O’Gorman, Brianna McIntosh, Mitchell Cook, Tyler Dominick, Erin Delaney, Avery Gump and Connor Sheffield.
The Cello section included Benjamin Chatterton, Katrina Tafler, Meghan Anderson, Christopher Chalifoux, Marguerite Dillon, Jared Jaquin, Erin Meehan, Erik Neacosia and Andrew Osetek.
String Bass included Kerrigan Cummins, Jonathan Cuyler, Tara Stacy, Patrick Dillon and Jonathon Stevens while on drums was Derrick Johnson.
After the performance, the students enjoyed a fun-filled day in the park culminating with the awards assembly where they were presented with their certificate of a Superior rating and their trophies.
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