Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

Kimball vocal and instrumental music programs rocked the District Music Contest

Kimball competed in the 2016 District Music contest with more than 800 high school performers competing individually and as a group in both vocal and instrumental contests.

Contestants from Banner County, Bayard, Bridgeport, Gering, Kimball, Leyton, Minatare, Mitchell, Morrill, Potter-Dix, Scottsbluff, and Sioux County gathered at Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff for the contest on Thursday, April 21.

Award certificates were presented to soloists, small ensembles, and large ensembles earning a superior rating and plaques were awarded to large ensembles earning a unanimous superior rating from all three judges.

One Outstanding Performance and two Honorable Mention Performance awards were selected by each judge for solo and small ensemble excellence.

Superior ratings, the highest rating given at the contest, were awarded to vocal soloists Connor Moore, Lila Moore, Ryan Soper, Nicholas Thomas-Lewis and Leisha Casimiro.

The vocal duets of Ali Hunsaker and Monica Wasielewski and Ryan Soper with Nicholas Thomas-Lewis were each awarded superior ratings as well.

The Kimball men's quintet, "The Fresh Five," comprised of Kole Bush, Connor Moore, Sebastian Portillo, Ryan Soper and Nicholas Thomas-Lewis were rated superior as was Leisha Casimiro, Soraya Estrada, Ali Hunsaker and Kennedy Lewis as "Sweet Adeline," Kimball's ladies' quartet.

New Dimension, Kimball High School's show choir, along with the high school concert choir, Kimball's high school concert band and jazz band were also given superior ratings.

Instrumental soloists that were awarded superior ratings were Kaden Adrian – trumpet solo, Audrey Day – tenor saxophone solo and Ali Hunsaker and Leisha Casimiro, each with French horn solos.

Leisha Casimiro and Ali Hunsaker were given an additional superior rating for their French horn duet as was the Kimball clarinet trip of Jessica Birkhofer, Taylor Muldoon, and Nicholas Thomas-Lewis.

Beyond the superior ratings, many students were given the second highest rating of excellent at the recent competition.

Kennedy Lewis was awarded an excellent rating for her vocal solo, as were Kimball's barbershop quartet of Connor Moore, Nicholas Thomas-Lewis, Sebastian Portillo and Ryan Soper and the women's vocal ensemble of Kiersten Anderson, Leisha Casimiro, Danika Daum, Soraya Estrada, Hannah Henton, Ali Hunsaker, Kennedy Lewis, Audrey McDowall, Lila Moore, Crystal Pile and Monica Wasielewski.

The clarinet duet from Desyree Nelson and McKenzie Brower was rated excellent as was the saxophone duets from Lacey Klinkhammer with Sheridan Magninie and Audrey Day with Kaitlin Wurdeman.

Excellent ratings were given to the clarinet trio of Annie Kelsch, Kate Reader and Madie Wynne and the trumpet quartet of Kaden Adrian, Kiersten Anderson, Kennedy Lewis and Alex Reader.

Leisha Casimiro was further honored with an outstanding performance, selected by the performance room judge, for her vocal solo and the ladies' quartet, Sweet Adeline, received a first honorable mention.

The members of Kimball's varsity show choir, New Dimension, will present the Kimball High School Pops Concert on Tuesday, May 10 at 7 pm at the high school with an ice cream social.

If interested in supporting the Kimball Vocal music program, please contact the high school to reserve tickets at 308-235-4861.