January has brought success and accolades for students in the performing arts at Concord-Carlisle High School, with auditions for both the introductory and final stages of state festivals and standard-shattering results at the state level.
On January 21, musicians from CCHS’s bands, choirs and orchestras attended the Massachusetts Music Educators Association’s (MMEA) All-State Festival Auditions at Shrewsbury High. These students were selected from the top 50 percent of those accepted to the MMEA Eastern District’s Senior Festival and competed against their peers from across the Commonwealth for a spot in one of the highly selective ensembles that will perform at Symphony Hall later this year.
Approximately 40-50 percent of auditioning students are accepted for this honor each year. Concord-Carlisle far-surpassed this metric with an unbelievable 94 percent of students accepted to the All-State Festival.
The concert will be held on Saturday, March 4 at Symphony Hall in Boston and is open to the public.
A week later, several 9th grade musicians auditioned for the MMEA Eastern District Junior Festival at Needham High. Out of the 765 students that auditioned from the 30 cities and towns in our district, only 382 were accepted.
This concert will be held on March 11 at Lincoln-Sudbury High and is open to the public.
“The CCHS Music Department is incredibly proud of these students and their holistic approach to the audition: focusing on the experience, the opportunity for personal growth, and the journey over destination and outcome,” wrote Christopher Noce, director of bands and orchestras at CCHS.
MMEA ALL-STATE RESULTS
# = Principal/First-Chair
2023 All-State Orchestra
Anthony Babu, ’26 – Trumpet
Raymond Chan, ’24 – Bass
Carson Enes, ’24 – Bass Clarinet #
Sofia Hughes, ’26 – Flute
Brandon Li, ’24 – Clarinet
Benjamin Lyczkowski, ’24 – Trumpet #
Maya McCabe, ’24 – Violin
Sophie Richardson, ’23 – Trombone #
2023 All-State Concert Band
Theodore Collins, ’25 – Trombone
Samuel Richman, ’24 – Alto Saxophone
Ian Wolossow, ’23 – Percussion
2023 All-State Choir
Alessandra Giragos, ’23
Benjamin Pixley, ’25
Marina Ricker, ’24
Noah Zall, ’24
MMEA EASTERN DISTRICT JUNIOR FESTIVAL STUDENTS
# = Accepted to Festival
Sophie Hong, ’26 – Violin #
Abigail Krinicich, ’26 – Violin #
Ryan Ma, ’26 – Violin
Gabrial McCauley, ’26 – Clarinet #
Elise McMorrow, ’26 – Trumpet
