Colusa students perform at Chico Music Festival

Fifteen vocal and instrumental music students from Colusa recently performed at the Northern Section Solo and Small Ensemble Music Festival at California State University, Chico.

Performing individually, and teaming together in ensembles, the talented musicians, ranging from sixth through 12th grades, presented 16 performances throughout the day.

The goal at this event was not to beat other competitors, rather, to achieve a score superior, excellent or good score, based on a ranking of one to three, according to Colusa Music Instruction, Mike Phenicie.

Students were scored based on their age, years of experience, and level of difficulty of the music performed, not just how well they perform the music, Phenicie said.

Students earning a superior rating qualified for a performance at the California State Solo and Small Ensemble Festival, to be held in Sacramento on May 8.

Vocalists competing from Colusa High School were sophomores Crystal Garcia, Shawna Marie Goad, Angela Rennick and senior Christine Bassett.

Garcia and Rennick both earned superior ratings while Bassett earned an excellent rating, and Goad's performance took a good rating.

CHS instrumental soloists included freshmen Lupita Ramos, on the oboe, Alexia Vargas, trumpet, Efren Fuentes, baritone saxophone, Sidney Wills, alto saxophone and senior Tayln Imhoff, piano.

Wills earned a rating of excellent, while the others all earned superior ratings. Fuentes was also one of a handful of students at the event to earn a "Command Performance," the top honor one can receive, Phenicie said.

Egling Middle School 6th grade clarinetist Yasmine Avila scored an excellent rating, while 7th graders Thomas Critchfield, tenor saxophone, and Alfonso Fuente, trombone, had superior performances.

Ramos, Critchfield, Wills and Efren Fuentes teamed together in a saxophone quartet performance that took the superior rating, and the brass quintet with Vargas, Ramos, Scott Waters, tuba, Cai s, trombone, and Josh Rector, trumpet, received a command performance on top of their superior rating.

After the dust settled at the end of a very long day, 12 of the 15 young musicians wound up qualifying for the state festival with their superior performances.