Ironwood music programs head to state competition

By MEGAN HUGHES

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Ironwood - The Ironwood Area Schools are preparing for their spring music season, with band and choir performances lined up through the rest of the school year.

With the spring band and choir concerts rapidly approaching, band director Kirk McBrayer and choral director Darin Schmidt were shared what the students are working on for the future.

Band

The Ironwood band had quite a lot of participation for the solo and ensemble competition, according to McBrayer. This year, the school participated in 13 events.

Three are going to state - a senior trumpeter, a snare drum trio and a saxophone trio.

"Last year I only had two groups go to the competition, so we had a ton more this year which is awesome to see," he said. This year the first round was in Bessemer on March 22. "It was us, Bessemer and Hurley who participated."

Looking forward, the band will be performing in the Memorial Day parade, playing at the school graduation, and starting the summer band program back up.

"Basically, it is a week where students come in and practice music. At the end of the week we will have a concert," said McBrayer of the summer program. "We had planned to start June 5, but I am thinking the school has had too many snow days, so it is more likely to begin June 6."

This Sunday will be the Luther L. Wright High School and Middle School band spring concert at 2 p.m. at the Historic Ironwood Theatre.

McBrayer described this concert as a combination of pieces from solos and small ensembles, as well as the full bands. There will be a variety of styles of music. For example, the high school band will be performing a selection from "The Legend of Zelda" series.

"We are planning a really fun piece with middle school called "Fire Dance," he said. "We have a really talented group of eighth grade students who will be performing a piece that I arranged for them."

Some other songs he teased include Haydn's E-flat Trumpet Concerto, a medley of Henry Purcell's trumpet tunes, and "Here's That Rainy Day," a ballad being performed by the Jazz Band.

Choir

Schmidt spoke highly about how the Ironwood choirs have done this year at the Solo and Ensemble competitions.

"Our show choir, Accent!, will be going to state at Stevens Point on May 6," he said. In addition, one of the soloists has also qualified for the annual state competition.

The ensemble performed two songs from the top Class A list, which was challenging for the group, according to Schmidt. One of the pieces was "And So It Goes," an arrangement of a Billy Joel song made for the King's Singers, as well as a piece called "Opening Up," from The Musical Waitress. He said groups must perform pieces on the Class A list, and score well enough, in order to advance to the state competition.

These songs will be performed along with other pieces and student spotlights at the Accent! spring concert on May 13 at the Ironwood Theatre. Show time is 7 p.m.

"The trip to Stevens Point is a big deal for the kids, because it's an overnight trip," said Schmidt. "It's one of our big goals for us each year, to reach that state level."

Looking forward to the upcoming LLW choral concerts, Schmidt explained that each concert has its own theme, with the Accent! show being a Billy Joel tribute concert, where they will be singing a variety of his songs. Additionally, the K-4 concert will feature a pair of Beatles songs sung by the fourth grade students.

Other upcoming concerts include:

-The 6th grade Band and Choir Concert will be held on May 16 at 7 p.m. at the Elementary Gym at the Ironwood school.

-The 5th grade Band and Choir Concert will be held on May 23 at 7 p.m. at the Elementary Gym at the Ironwood school.

-The K-4 Spring Concert will be held at 1:30 p.m. on May 31 at the High School Gym.