News

Five students earn First Chair honors; Six repeat Festival honors from previous years

CHELMSFORD, MA (Nov. 30, 2022) – Nineteen student-musicians from Chelmsford High School – representing band, orchestra and chorus – qualified for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) Northeastern Senior District Music Ensemble, the MMEA announced on recently.

Five students earned first chair honors led by senior violinist Kaitlyn Kaminuma and senior percussionist Sarah Roch, who earned first chair status for the second straight year. Also earning first chair honors were juniors Jack Tallent (tuba) and Kyle Pinto (trombone) and freshman flautist Jade Boyer.

Senior bassist Jacquelyn Brennan-Barbeau earned Senior District Ensemble honors for the fourth straight year while Ms. Roch, Mr. Pinto, Mr. Tallent and junior violinist Cynthia Lu earned the plaudits for the third successive year. Senior Jamie Garber (alto saxophone) was named to the Ensemble for the second consecutive year.

Eight CHS musicians received MMEA All-State recommendation including Ms. Roch, Mr. Pinto, and Mr. Tallent, who earned all-state honors for the third straight year; as well as Ms. Brennan-Barbeau and Ms. Kaminuma for the second consecutive year. Also earning all-state recommendation were Ms. Boyer, freshman Ryan Blaine (French horn) and freshman Ethan Jiang (tenor saxophone).

All-State auditions are scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 21 at Shrewsbury High School.

“We are so proud of the students who auditioned for and were accepted into this year’s Senior District Festival,” said Coordinator of Fine and Performing Arts Dr. Christy Whittlesey. “Their success is a direct result of both their hard work and the efforts of our music faculty, who are dedicated to offering students the best quality K-12 music education possible.”

The MMEA Senior District Music Festival is scheduled to run Wednesday, Jan. 4, Friday, Jan. 6 and Saturday, Jan. 7 at the New England Conservatory of Music. Rehearsals will be conducted Wednesday and Friday with a dress rehearsal and performance Saturday (Times TBA).

As it has in previous years, the Chelmsford Friends of Music will cover the audition fees for CHS’s eight students who qualified.

The auditions were held in person – at North Andover High School – for the first time since 2019 due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Chelmsford’s Harrington Elementary School music teacher Matthew Buono served as the MMEA auditions coordinator.

Recipients of the MMEA Northeastern Senior District Music Ensemble included:

                                                                  Previous

Student                                                           Years                    Distinction       Instrument

Ryan Blaine (Fr.) *                                                 —                             Band      French Horn

Jade Boyer (Fr.) #*                                                —            Band/Orchestra                  Flute

Jacquelyn Brennan-Barbeau (Sr.) *       2019, 2020, 2021             Orchestra         String Bass

Eleanor Desmarais (Sr.)                                   2021                          Chorus                      —

Cailin Deutschmann (Jr.)                                      —                          Chorus                      —

Jason Dou (So.)                                                    —                      Orchestra                 Viola

Jamie Garber (Sr.)                                            2020                             Band Alto Saxophone

Aidan Gilmore (Jr.)                                               —                             Band              Trumpet

Ethan Jiang (Fr.) *                                                 —                             Band  Tenor Saxophone

Kaitlin Kaminuma (Sr.) #*                                2021                      Orchestra                Violin

Jociah Kautz (Jr.)                                                   —                             Band         Trombone

Karen Khela (Fr.)                                                   —                          Chorus                       —

Cynthia Lu (Jr.)                                       2020, 2021                      Orchestra                Violin

Brian Miller (Sr.)                                                    —                             Band            Trumpet

Sophia Miranda (So.)                                            —                             Band             Clarinet

Kyle Pinto (Jr.) #*                                   2020, 2021                             Band          Trombone

Sarah Roch (Sr.) #*                                2020, 2021                             Band              Mallets

Jack Tallent (Jr.) #*                                 2020, 2021                             Band                 Tuba

Joshua Wolman (Fr.)                                            —                              Band            Bassoon

#Denotes First Chair position; *Denotes All-State recommendation

About Chelmsford Public Schools

The Chelmsford Public School District provides all students with multiple pathways to optimize their own potential for academic excellence, leadership, and social and emotional wellness. The mission of the Chelmsford Public Schools is to educate, engage, prepare, and empower well-rounded and knowledgeable learners to PERSEVERE through challenges, demonstrate RESPECT and INTEGRITY in their words and actions, are DEDICATED to their community, and display EMPATHY as global citizens while discovering and pursuing their full potential. This PRIDE-driven culture enables all members of the school community to support the growth and development of students. For more information, please visit www.chelmsfordschools.org.