Five GCA students from fourth, fifth, and sixth grade performed alongside 150 of their peers from across the state in the Polaris Choir at the ACDA 4-5-6 Honor Choir on March 29. These students are, pictured above from left to right: Thad Wengert, Keely Whitman, Charlotte Greer, Madelynn Thompson, Rachel Stensland.

Students at Genesis Classical Academy were busy with several music events during Music In Our Schools Month in March, bringing home several Superior ratings from contests and showcasing their school’s musical talents at honor choir.

Music contests are rated on a points system, with the highest possible score being 40 points. Ensembles are scored by a panel of three judges, none of which can be affiliated with the performing ensemble’s home school to prevent bias.

All three judges fill out a scoring form while the ensemble performs their set, which consists of up to three pieces of music selected from an approved list dictated by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL).

Ensembles are scored based on tone quality, intonation, rhythm, balance and blend, technique, interpretation and musicianship, other performance factors (such as posture, choice of repertoire, and general conduct), and one of four categories based on which type of ensemble is performing: direction for vocal performance, bowing for strings, articulation for winds, and execution for percussion.

Each category can be scored up to a maximum of five points, which are all totaled to award the final score. Each judge’s total score is then added together and divided by three to assign a final score for the ensemble. A score of 35-40 points awards a Superior rating, which is the highest possible rating to achieve.

On March 3, the GCA 9-12 Choir competed at the Large Group Choral Contest at Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial (LCWM) in Lake Crystal, where they received a Superior rating.

GCA fifth-grader Wyatt Sahr competed at the Minnesota Music Teacher’s Association (MMTA) State Piano Contest Finals, which was held March 8-9, and won first place in the state at his level. He will be performing at the MMTA Honor Concert later in the year on May 31.

On March 10, various GCA students competed in seven events at the Subsection Six Solo/Ensemble Contest at Minnesota State University (MSU), and received seven Superior ratings. The students who earned these ratings include:

• Aiden Murphey, vocal solo

• Celie Holland, vocal solo

• Lindsey Lawrence, piano solo

• Avery Krause, piano solo

• Ariel Sahr, Caleb Satre, Wesley Greer, Jacob Stensland; guitar quartet

• Avery Krause, Molly Murphey, Gracie Coreson, Liberty Walker, Annika Bonnema, Celie Holland, Lindsey Lawrence, Mikaela Bonnema, Ariel Sahr, Emily Stensland; SSA vocal ensemble

• Aiden Murphey, Caleb Satre, Wesley Greer, Jacob Stensland, Isaiah Slater, Noah Barnett, Jacob Gunzenhauser; TTBB vocal ensemble

Five GCA students – Thad Wengert, Keely Whitman, Madelynn Thompson, Rachel Stensland, and Charlotte Greer – participated in the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) 4-5-6 Honor Choir on March 29 at St. Michael-Albertville High School.

They joined a group of 280 students from across the state, which were split into two separate choirs at the event – the Aurora Choir, conducted by Greg Gilpin, and the Polaris Choir, directed by Patti Arntz.

All five of the GCA students performed with the Polaris Choir under the direction of guest conductor Patti Arntz. The choir performed the following pieces at the concert: A Quilt of Snow arranged by Patti Arntz; I Started Out Singing by Jocelyn Hagen, Oye by Jim Papoulis, The Moon by Andy Beck, and Metsa Telegramm by Uno Naissoo.