All-County Music Fest puts spotlight on nearly 250 student musicians

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA –  The Orleans County Music Educators’ Association on Saturday presented the March All-County Music Festival, featuring 245 students from Albion, Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville and Medina.

The top photo shows trombonists in the elementary band.

The OCMEA brought in guest conductors who worked with students on Friday and Saturday before the concert on Saturday afternoon. The music teachers in each district also prepared the students in the weeks leading up to the big concert.

Amanda Burdick leads the elementary band, which included 85 students. Burdick has been teaching band the past 20 years at Lewiston-Porter.

On Saturday the All-County band performed the “Cape Breton March,” “On the Colorado Trail,” “The Water is Wide,” and “Builder’s Dream.”

Becki Place, a vocal music teacher and choral director at Fred W. Hill Elementary School in Brockport, served as guest conductor of the Junior High Chorus.

The chorus included 89 students. They sang, “Cantar!” “Hava Nashiram,” “Seed to Sow,” and “Amazing.”

The students sang with lots of hand movements during the song, “Seed to Sow.”

The senior high band was led by guest conductor Bill Tiberio, who has worked as a music teacher for 42 years, with the first four at Auburn and the past 38 at Fairport High School.

Zach Busch, Holley’s junior-senior high band teacher, joined the senior high band with his trombone. There were 71 students in the senior high band. They performed “English Folk Song Suite,” “On the Banks,” and “Groovitude.”