BELLOWS FALLS — Twice each year, southern Vermont is treated to a dynamic music festival featuring outstanding middle and high school student musicians.
The Connecticut River Valley Music Festival Association 2019 Fall Festival, encompassing 25 schools, will be hosted at Bellows Falls Union High School on Nov. 22 and 23.
Bellows Falls Union High School Music Director Nick Pelton said in a news release that he and the school offered to contribute due to the high level of involvement of BFUHS students.
All schools involved in the Festival help in some way, but Pelton said BFUHS will be well represented, with 18 students in concert band and one student in jazz choir.
In early October, students from all over the Connecticut River Valley traveled to Brattleboro Union High School and auditioned for the coveted invitation to perform in the Festival. Students prepare a solo performance, technical skills, and sight reading as part of their challenging audition.
Students audition for selection into four groups that will perform on Nov. 23: High School Concert Band, conducted by Karen Atherton of Westfield State University; High School Jazz Choir, conducted by Catherine Jensen-Hole of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Middle School Jazz Band, conducted by Dan Liptak of Crossett Brook Middle School; and Middle School Concert Choir, with conductor Kristin Cimonetti of Mill River High School.
This exciting performance will take place in the BFUHS auditorium on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 3 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the door: $6 for adults and $4 for students and seniors.
Pelton said students' experiences in the festival are authentic to the way music is taught and learned.
“Students are often learning from more experienced players, with students serving as both mentors and mentees, learning and disseminating the language of music through these experiences. In our small school environments, these skills are useful as it also encourages students to learn to work with others - some more advanced even - and play music that is perhaps more challenging.
“Simply working with a new conductor who may do things differently brings new dimensions to their experiences as musicians. Hopefully, students will bring something back to their respective home school and improve upon themselves as musicians and their program as a whole.”