Lower Cape May Regional Has 11 Music Students in Region III Honors Ensembles

ERMA – Eleven students from the Lower Cape May Regional School District were selected to participate in six categories of the Region III Honors Ensembles.  
According to a release, four of them were from the Richard M. Teitelman Middle School, and seven were from Lower Cape May Regional High School.  
High School Honors Band
Region III High School Honors Band included: Maura Olivero – trumpet, John Payne – clarinet, Eric Pisieczko – euphonium, Kayleigh Schultz – trombone, and Jackson Schiffbauer – tuba.
Jr. High School Honors Band
Region III Junior High School Honors Band included: Desiree Cady – trombone, Allyson Walsh – trumpet, and Moustafa Nasr – oboe.
Jr. High Honors Orchestra
Region III Junior High Honors Orchestra: Josie Saquella – cello.  
High School Honors Chorus
Region III High School Honors Chorus: Quinn Dougherty and Reid Shriver. All-State Chorus: Reid Shriver and All-State Wind Ensemble: Maura Olivero.
Participation in Region III honors ensembles involves hundreds of students auditioning for minimal spots to complete a group.
It is considered a huge accomplishment when a student earns a spot in an ensemble.
Approximately 40 percent of the students at the Teitelman Middle School are enrolled in band, chorus, orchestra or a combination of the three.
Approximately 46 percent of the students at the Lower Cape May Regional High School participate in one or more of the following: symphonic band, orchestral strings, modern music production, music history, and music theory, piano, advanced piano, guitar, and advanced guitar.
Students selected for Region III Band and Orchestra spend significant amounts of time with their teacher preparing solo material and scales.
The auditions require them to play a select portion of a solo they have prepared; however, they aren’t told what portion it will be until they arrive for their audition.
Junior high students are tasked with preparing 10 scales and high school students prepare 15 scales.
Students are asked to play three major scales and a chromatic scale during the audition.
For the final portion of the audition, students are asked to sight-read. Typically students are critiqued by two or three judges in the room with their backs to the students. A moderator facilitates each audition.
Judges score each student on tone, intonation, technique, interpretation, and rhythm. The middle school students are divided into two bands. The high school is divided into a Symphonic Band and a Wind Ensemble. There are also Chamber Ensembles that one of our students was accepted into (a chamber ensemble is a small group of students who perform various works).
Students selected for Region III Chorus follow a similar audition as the band/orchestra. They must perform various scales a cappella (voice only).
After completing scales, they perform a prepared solo. Instead of sight reading, they perform their auditioned voice part on Bach’s “Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light.”
To be selected for All-State Ensembles a student must first make the Region III ensemble.
For the All-State Band and Orchestra ensemble, the audition regiment is the same.
For Choir, students perform a different solo; however, students in these ensembles are now competing against the best of the best from North, Central, and Southern New Jersey.
Generally, All-State is geared toward the high school students, although there is a Junior High All-State Orchestra.
In addition to learning about and enjoying music, research confirms that students who participate in a music program have: greater academic achievement in all subjects, improved memory and special learning, better problem solving and listening skills, benefits for social and behavioral maturation, better self-confidence and self-esteem.
The directors:
LCMR HS Band Director – John Drechen
LCMR HS Chorus Director – Sandra Beane-Fox
Richard M. Teitleman Middle School String Director – Julie Heck
Richard M. Teitelman Middle School Band Director – Bethany Wiberg