Students Take Stage in WSMA Middle Level State Honors Concerts

Many of Wisconsin’s most accomplished junior high and middle school music students (band, choir and orchestra) will perform in Waunakee on Saturday, October 28, at the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) Middle Level State Honors Music Project concerts.
Throughout the state, 316 students in grades 6-8 were selected from over 1,100 who auditioned for the program in April. Auditions included individual student performances and an ensemble class, taught by an Honors adjudicator. Selection was based on several elements of music performance.
WSMA State Honors Music Project brings Wisconsin’s finest school musicians together to work with nationally known conductors in a professional setting. The 2017 WSMA Middle Level State Honors conductors are:
Band:  Mary Land, Jasper, GA
Orchestra:  Louis Bergonzi, Champaign, IL
Choir:  Mark Boyle, Harrison City, PA
“Learning, interacting and performing with other inspiring musicians from across the state under the direction of a nationally recognized conductor and some Wisconsin’s finest music educators, offers students an incredible enrichment opportunity,” said Erica Ruppert, WSMA program director.
The Saturday, October 28th, concerts mark the 23rd anniversary of the Middle Level State Honors Music Project. Students will perform for an audience of more than 1,200 at Waunakee High School Performing Arts Center. The concerts (1:00 p.m. – Band; 2:00 p.m. – Orchestra; 3:00 p.m. – Choir) celebrate the extraordinary accomplishments of Wisconsin’s finest young musicians. Tickets for the concerts may be purchased at the door for $16.00 and each ticket provides admission to all three concerts.
Students in grades 6-8 who attend a WSMA member school and participate in the school’s music program will be eligible to audition for the 2018 WSMA Middle Level State Honors Project. Auditions will be held in April at six locations throughout Wisconsin.  For more information on Middle Level State Honors and other WSMA programs, visit wsmamusic.org.
Ben Copeland, who attends New Glarus High School, will be playing the Trombone in the Orchestra,
<i>Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) is a service organization with more than 1,000 member public and private schools. Each year, more than 100,000 students participate in over 220,000 events for WSMA activities, including District and State Music Festivals, Concert Festivals, State Honors Music Project, State Marching Band Championships and Student Composition Project. WSMA, headquartered in the Wisconsin Center for Music Education, is governed by a board of directors made up of superintendents, principals and other officers from all over the state. WSMA believes music is a basic human need and that all children have the right to experience all that music offers them.</i>