WOHS wind ensemble receives gold rating at music festival

WO-wohs wind ensemble-WWEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange High School wind ensemble, under the direction of Lewis C. Kelly, received a gold rating for their performances of “Hymn for the Lost and Living” and “Incantation and Dance” at the Region I Concert Band Festival held at West Orange High School on April 7. In addition, the wind ensemble received the outstanding woodwind, brass and percussion awards, and junior Fabiola Etienne received an outstanding solo award for her “Hymn for the Lost and Living” trumpet solo.

The ratings are determined by a panel and adjudicated according to National Band Association guidelines with a scoring system totaling 100 points.

Gold rating awards are given to bands achieving a score of 88 to 100 points; silver rating, 75 to 87.9 points; and bronze rating, 50 to 74.9 points. Degree of difficulty is a consideration in the scoring, but a gold rating is reserved for bands performing at the highest degree of difficulty.

With the gold rating, the WOHS wind ensemble will perform with the three other Region I top rated bands on May 1 at the state gala to be held at Rutgers University.

The WOHS ninth-grade band, under the direction of Joshua Zimmer, received a silver rating. The WOHS concert band and WOHS symphonic winds, under the direction of Erin Lagatic, both also received silver ratings.

The Columbia High School wind ensemble, under the direction of Peter Bauer, also performed at the event and was awarded a gold rating.