Waukon High School Band earns 22 Division I ratings at IHSMA State Contests
Perfect scores ... Pictured above are Waukon High School soloists who received a perfect score on their performance at the IHSMA State Contest held in Waukon April 2. Left to right are Reagan Lubahn - trumpet, Abby Wiemerslage - marimba, and James VanderVelden - trumpet. Submitted photo.
Additional Division I Soloists ... Left to right - Front row: Alaina Gebel, Bailey Sherman; Back row: Cody Huinker, Logan Lubahn, Jacob Smith, Ryan Kolsrud. Submitted photo.
Division I Woodwind Ensembles ... Left to right - Front row: Annie Ellingson, Bailey Sherman, Tamara Guchshenkov, Alice Day; Back row: Taylor Kiel, Gabe Goettel, Clara Deeny, Noah Evans, Jackson Perkins. Submitted photo.
Division I Brass Ensembles ... Left to right - Front row: Reagan Lubahn, Jay Aldrich, Lauren McCabe; Back row: Cody Huinker, Logan Lubahn, Jacob Smith, Micheal Duncklee. Submitted photo.
Division I Percussion Ensembles ... Left to right - Front row: Abby Wiemerslage, Alaina Gebel, Ella Dehli; Back row: Ghada Ibrahim, Ryan Kolsrud, Dekota Bechtel. Submitted photo.
Division II Solo and Division III Ensemble ... Left to right: Taylor Kiel and Clara Deeny, Division III clarinet duet; and Tamara Guchshenkov, Division II soloist. Submitted photo.
Saturday, April 2, members of the Waukon High School Band performed for the Iowa High School Music Association (IHSMA) State Solo and Ensemble Contests. The event was hosted by Waukon High School and involved each soloist or ensemble performing for a judge who rated their performance on a five-point scale in eight different categories.
The group had 24 events that performed for the festival - 10 soloists and 14 ensembles. At the end of the day, the band had received 22 Division I ratings, one Division II rating, and one Division III rating. Band Director Jo Ann Sherman stated, “I knew by about 10:00 that we were going to have a good day, but I could never have dreamed that we would receive the results that we did by the end of the day. The students were amazing.
“If you consider that the band only has one student who had ever attended an in-person solo and ensemble festival, that we had just returned from a five-day Spring Break trip to Tennessee, and include with that the fact that when we returned we only had two days of rehearsals before several of the students went to the State Leadership Conference for FBLA, I was just hoping our groups could just hold themselves together after so much time off.
“Congratulations to the band members! They have worked on this music off-and-on for much of the semester. They have had to do all the work to learn their parts and rehearse the ensembles. I really float from room to room helping to facilitate - but with so many groups, they are really doing most of the work.”
Along with the top ratings the band received, three soloists received perfect scores on their solo performances that day. Those perfect scores were awarded to senior Abby Wiemerslage on marimba, freshman Reagan Lubahn on trumpet, and junior James VanderVelden on trumpet. The results for the day are as follows:
Division I solos: Abby Wiemerslage - marimba, Reagan Lubahn - trumpet, James VanderVelden - trumpet, Bailey Sherman- flute, Jacob Smith - trombone, Cody Huinker - trombone, Logan Lubahn - tuba, Alaina Gebel - marimba, Ryan Kolsrud - snare drum.
Division I ensembles:
Flute Duet - Bailey Sherman, Tamara Guchshenkov
Flute Quartet: Bailey Sherman, Tamara Guchshenkov, Alice Day, Annie Ellingson
Flute and Clarinet Duet: Annie Ellingson, Taylor Kiel
Tenor Saxophone Duet: Annie Ellingson, Gabe Goettel
Woodwind Choir: Bailey Sherman, Tamara Guchshenkov, Alice Day, Taylor Kiel, Clara Deeny, Noah Evans, Jackson Perkins, Annie Ellingson, Gabe Goettel
Trumpet Duet: James VanderVelden, Reagan Lubahn
Brass Quintet: James VanderVelden, Reagan Lubahn, Jay Aldrich, Cody Huinker, Logan Lubahn
Trombone Trio: Cody Huinker, Jacob Smith, Logan Lubahn
Low Brass Quartet: Cody Huinker, Jacob Smith, Lauren McCabe, Logan Lubahn
Marimba duet: Abby Wiemerslage, Ghada Ibrahim
Marimba duet: Alaina Gebel, Ryan Kolsrud
Percussion Sextet: Abby Wiemerslage, Alaina Gebel, Ella Dehli, Ryan Kolsrud, Dekota Bechtel, Ghada Ibrahim
Brass Choir: James VanderVelden, Reagan Lubahn, Jay Aldrich, Cody Huinker, Jacob Smith, Micheal Duncklee, Lauren McCabe, Logan Lubahn.
Division II soloist: Tamara Guchshenkov.
Division III clarinet duet: Taylor Kiel and Clara Deeny.
