WOODLAND, Maine — Several band members from the Woodland Consolidated School participated in the All Aroostook Band Festival, held Friday, Jan. 12, and Monday, Jan. 15, at Ashland Community School.
Student instrumentalists from Aroostook County can audition to secure a spot in the two-day instrumental music festival. The high scoring instrumentalists are assembled to form the All Aroostook Middle School Band and the All Aroostook High School Band.
This year the middle school students worked with guest conductor Rebecca Mallory, who currently teaches band at Reeds Brook Middle School in Hampden and also teaches jazz band for the University of Maine Summer Camp Program.
High school students were under the direction of John Morneau, director of the Bowdoin College Concert Band. He is also active as a free-lance woodwind performer. having performed with The Temptations; Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus Band; Guy Lombardo’s Royal Canadians; Liberace; singer Steve Lippia; the Bangor Symphony Orchestra; jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Wayne Bergeron, Eric Marienthal and Dick Johnson; as well as having served as a regular member of the Don Doane Big Band, and currently as a regular member of the Al Corey and Opus One Big Bands here in Maine.
Students said the festival was a fantastic learning opportunity, and the final performance was a concert to showcase the talent of Aroostook County’s student musicians.
Students attending from Woodland Consolidated School were Jeremiah Holmes, Cassidy Page, George Ferland, Gabbie Sutherland, Lily Bray, Jillian Ziegler, Mackenzie Tracy and Amanda Poulin, members of the 2018 Middle School Band, and Hannah Landeen, a member of the High School Band.
