Garden City Middle School ensembles earn top honors at Music in the Parks festival
On May 15, the Garden City Middle School eighth grade band and Late-Night Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Ms. Iovino, traveled to Reading, Pennsylvania, to compete in the Music in the Parks festival.
Both ensembles performed for a panel of adjudicators, presenting a warm-up selection along with two adjudicated pieces. The eighth grade band earned an impressive average score of 94.5, while the Late-Night Jazz Ensemble received a 95. Among the 11 participating ensembles, which included orchestras, concert bands and jazz ensembles, Garden City’s groups achieved the two highest scores of the day.
In recognition of their outstanding performances, both ensembles received superior ratings, with the eighth grade band earning the “Best Overall” concert band award and the Late-Night Jazz Ensemble earning the “Best Overall” jazz ensemble award. Additionally, eighth grader Emmett Owens was recognized as the festival’s “Best Overall Jazz Soloist,” earning the top soloist honor among performers from the four competing jazz ensembles for his trumpet performance.
Following the competition, students enjoyed the remainder of the day at Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania, before concluding the trip with an awards ceremony held inside the park.
Ms. Iovino, Ms. DeMarco and the student musicians would like to thank the Garden City administrators in the Central Office and at the middle school for their continued support and encouragement, which helped make these accomplishments possible.