Whitehall amazing at state music

Members of the Whitehall High School choir and band continued to shine at last week’s State Music Festival in Missoula.

School musical director Janet Heilig said they had eleven events at state, four of them receiving the top possible score of a superior rating, and the other seven receving excellent ratings.

“They were terrific,” Heilig said.

The Women’s Ensemble featuring Iris Heimberg, Bailee Hess, Rabeca Kopf, Madison Lombardi, Alycia Loomis, Alexys Mercer, Ann Russell, Monica Sepulveda and Rachel Smith received a superior rating. The Women’s Select Choir featuring Heimberg, Lombardi, Loomis, Mercer and Smith also received the superior rating. Maggie Whitehurst received a superior rating for her clarinet solo, and Mercer received a superior rating for her tenor sax solo.

Kopf, Lombardi, Loomis, Mercer, Smith, and Austin Schwab all received excellent ratings for their individual performances. Katelyn Smith and Ashlynn Ellison also received an excellent rating for their flute duet.

Heilig added the students were able to meet and perform with students from around Western Montana, and were also able to attend the UM World Drumming Concert.

Local residents will be able to see more performances from local students later this month. The K-5 Spring concert is scheduled for May 16, and the 6-12 Pops Concert and senior awards night is scheduled for May 23. The performances are scheduled for 7 p.m.