NOCTILUCA February 2017

CULTURE Appleton, Wisconsin February 2017 Volume XXII

Issue IV Page 9

Solo and Ensemble festival reaches Appleton North Students prepare compositions for upcoming music festival

bid to compete in the state Solo and Ensemble festival. This year, Appleton North will be hosting its own dis- trict festival, with piano/vo- cal performances occurring on Feb. 25 and jazz/large ensemble entries open for March 3. Charles Wu, a senior at Appleton North, is current- ly in the rehearsal stages for Solo and Ensemble. A state-renowned pianist who has honed his piano-playing skills for both the Oshkosh Symphony Orchestra and for his second place all-state win for the Music Teachers National Association com- petition, Wu prepares for only his second turn at Solo and Ensemble. After receiv- ing a one star last year for a trio composition with fel- low seniors David Yan and Tristan DeBruin. This year, he plans on competing for both a piano solo category and a cello-piano duet cat- egory with Tristan DeBruin. “I’ll be playing ‘La Cam- panella’ for my solo piece, and I’m pretty excited,” Wu said. When asked if he feels the impending stress of S&E, he admitted, “I’m not as nervous because it’s a competition that’s through the school. I’m really more

of a state piano guy.” He went on to add, “It is really fun though to hang out and play music with my bud- dies.” For sophomore band stu- dent and vocalist Jack Cain, on the other hand, Solo and Ensemble presents itself as more of a daunting task. “It’s definitely stressful,” he stated. “It takes a lot of hard work and preparation, and practice isn’t something you can just leave for the last minute.” Though he did add, “It’s still definitely worth it. I mean, it’s pretty fun to get together with people and make music to- gether.” Although the stresses of performing are eminent, this sense of fun and camarade- rie is ultimately an objective for festival organizers. After all, according to its website, WSMA prides itself on cre- ating “memories and skills for life.” Thus, students are heavily encouraged to par- ticipate in the ongoing tra- dition of S&E and to at least continue to share their love of music throughout the community. For more information about the Solo and Ensem- ble tradition, visit www.ws- mamusic.org/festivals.

By Maddy Schilling

During the third quarter at Appleton North high school, students are often subject to the stress of increasingly large piles of homework, impending AP tests, college admissions letters, lengthy sports practices, musical re- hearsals and a mid-year lack of motivation that serves as the proverbial cherry on top. For North musicians, much of this stress heavily revolves around a competi- tive tradition called Solo and Ensemble. The Solo and Ensemble, or S&E, festival is a showcase of student musicians’ tal- ents, and it focuses around five primary objectives: improving students’ music performance, increasing students’ understanding of music literature and musical concepts, motivating stu- dents to continue their study of music, establishing stan- dards of excellence in music performance and providing opportunities for students to understand the relation- ship of music experiences to other life experiences. Come March of 2017, Lightning theatre, led by theatre teacher and direc- tor Ron Parker, will be one of the first to produce “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” the classic tale originally penned by Victor Hugo and adapted by Disney. Though Appleton North is no stranger to popular Dis- ney productions, such as last year’s “The Little Mer- maid,” the new year brings a new flavor to the stage, as “Hunchback” diverges greatly from the cartoon fairy tale of 1996. Indeed, it will tell the tale of the kind-hearted hunch- back named Quasimodo, the Premiere spring musical brings a dark tale to life By Raven Wilson

Senior Charles Wu practices “La Campanella,” or “Little Bell,” for the upcoming S&E festival. Photo by Maddy Schilling

For Appleton North stu- dents, the process to achieve these objectives typically involves choosing a desig- nated S&E piece from the official WSMA lineup in January; these compositions range in difficulty level, from Category C (beginner level), to B (intermediate), to A (advanced). After weeks of prepara- beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, the dashing Captain Phoe- bus and the wicked Claude Frollo, but the North show will also focus on some of the darker elements from Hugo’s novel. After all, the production on which much of North theatre’s show will be based bares not only the- matic similarities to Victor Hugo’s other famous work “Les Miserables,” but also parallel elements of staging style. Furthermore, not only will North be the first high school to put on the musical, but this year’s “Hunchback” will be the first non-profes- sional theatre program to perform the musical in the Midwest. A relatively new production, “The Hunch- back of Notre Dame” is the product of the first collabo- ration between renowned

tion and practice, the district festival serves as an initial test, wherein participants from a given area perform their pieces in front of adju- dicators and are awarded on a one-to-five scale, with five being the lowest score and with a one being the high- est. A one-star, however, is the most desired score, as it results in an automatic composer Alan Menken and famed lyricist Stephen Schwartz, the rights of which Parker seized as soon as he could to allow Apple- ton North theatre to legally put on the production. Madeline Cuff, stage manager for the upcoming musical as well as previous shows at North, said, “The show is going to have over one hundred students in- volved through tech, acting and pit, so it’ll require a ton of hard work and dedication from all of us to really make this show a great one.” While North has typically boasted large scale produc- tions since Mr. Parker’s tenure began, bringing “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” will be a particu- larly remarkable feat. With so many students involved, cast, crew and pit members

The ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ makes high school debut at North

With shows beginning March 9, a total of ten performances will be open to the public. For tickets and more information, visit www.appletonnorththeatre.org. Photo by Maddy Schilling

docket, theatre students have shown that they are up to the task. Performance dates are March 9, 10, 11, 16, 17 and 18 at 7 p.m. and March 11, 12, 18 and 19 at 12:30 p.m. For all who are interested, tickets are now being sold to the public online.

must accumulate thousands of hours over the course of the next two months in or- der to live up to the expec- tations that are held up in the Appleton North theatre program. Yet with daily rehearsals and countless tech hours al- ready building up to place this historical show on the