Pictured, Noah Joslyn, winner of the Hornell Area Wind Ensemble Young Artist Award
On June 6th at 7:30 pm, the Wellsville music department will wrap up its first Spring concert/competition season in three years with their High School Spring Concert. This concert will feature performances by the Wellsville HS band, orchestra, choir and W.A.V.E, and will also honor the late Gordon Hardy, Wellsville band director from 1982-1992.
Several of Gordon’s former students (Jim Latten, ‘82 percussion, Chris Minges, ‘83 trumpet, and Mike Palmer, ‘83 baritone) have established the Gordon Hardy Scholarship for graduating Seniors who plan to continue on with music after high school. $1,000 per year will be given to, not just music majors, but anyone who plans to continue playing in band during their college years.
Wellsville students have come back from COVID with a bang, performing and sharing their musical talents both with the local community and across the state.
At this year’s Solo Festival, sophomore Noah Joslyn earned an A+ rating on his NYSSMA Conference Solo. Playing the alto saxophone, Joslyn performed the technically challenging Sonata, Opus 19 by Paul Creston and was accompanied on piano by Judith Belin. Noah also won the Hornell Wind Ensemble Young Soloist Scholarship early this Spring. The scholarship committee gave Noah a $300 cash prize for his hard work and superior performance.
Soprano Felicity Morrison received an A+ rating on her NYSSMA Conference Solo at this year’s Solo Festival. She performed Se tu m’ami by Giovanni Pergolisi and was praised for her artistry, vocal quality, and Italian diction. Felicity also auditioned for and was accepted into the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan where she will be studying musical theater in the Fall.
Wellsville High School’s theater department won several Theatre Association of New York State awards for their charming production of A Year with Frog and Toad. The awards were as follows: Excellence in Production Concept and Technical Execution to Matt Warren, Diane Willard and the Production Staff, Excellence in Musical Direction to Judy Belin, Excellence in Orchestral Direction to Jeff Joslyn, Excellence in Vocal Performance to Gabriel Germain-Tardieu as Frog, Excellence in Vocal Performance to Ashden Hyslip as Toad, Meritorious Achievement in Acting and Movement to Ayden Faulkner as Snail, Meritorious Achievement in Ensemble Acting, Vocal Performance and Backstage Management to the Cast of A Year with Frog and Toad.
Wellsville’s 8th grade chorus took 3rd place at this year’s Darien Lake Music Fest Competition on May 28th. Junior and Senior High Band, Junior and Senior High Orchestra, Senior High Chorus, and W.A.V.E. are slated to compete at Darien Lake on June 3rd, with the hopes of bringing home more awards. W.A.V.E. will also be competing at the Music in Parks music festival at Hershey Park on June 11th. Be sure to keep an eye out this summer for the Wellsville Marching Lions. They will be marching at the Andover 4th of July Parade 11am and the Wellsville Balloon Rally Parade July 9th 11am, capping off their season with a trip to Waldameer Amusement Park.
