Decorah Musicians Earn Top Honors at State Solo and Ensemble Festival

You'll want to remember this moment. Help us record what's happening in Decorah. DECORAH — Students of the Decorah High School music department represented their community at the Iowa High School Music Association State Solo and Small Ensemble Festival on Saturday, March 28, at Independence High School. Performing alongside students from Anamosa, Center Point-Urbana, Independence, Marion, Dubuque Wahlert, Waukon, West Delaware and Cedar Rapids Xavier, Decorah musicians stood out for their skill and preparation. The adjudicated festival awards each entry one of five divisional ratings recognizing varying levels of achievement. Decorah students earned top ratings throughout the day and further distinguished themselves by capturing four of the festival's seven Outstanding Performance awards, an honor reserved for the most exceptional performances at each site. Outstanding Performance awards were presented to: Mikayla Hiner, flute solo Mikayla Hiner, vocal solo Junior treble clef vocal ensemble Naomi Kutz and Lauren Severtson, violin duet Perfect scores were awarded to: Mikayla Hiner, flute solo Jay Hawthorn, flute solo Jay Hawthorn, piccolo solo Mikayla Hiner, vocal solo Senior bass clef vocal ensemble Claire Ko and Rachel Weis, violin duet Naomi Kutz and Lauren Severtson, violin duet Naomi Kutz, violin solo Lauren Severtson, violin solo Claire Ko, violin solo Rachel Weis, violin solo Spencer Christiansen, violin solo Jayden Lundtvedt, violin solo Division I — Superior ratings Solos: Flute — Sophia McGee, Mikayla Hiner, Jay Hawthorn, Ruth Kueny; piccolo — Jay Hawthorn; trumpet — Kylie Zoulek; trombone — Evan Madsen; tuba — Sawyer Walker; French horn — Jillian Volz; marimba — Grace Stockman, Olivia Rissman; timpani — Grace Stockman; violin — Spencer Christensen, Liam Huang, Naomi Kutz, Lauren Severtson, Claire Ko, Rachel Weis, Jayden Lundtvedt, Sofia Hageman; string bass — Nina Sessions; soprano — Mikayla Hiner, Nessa Kane, Lula McAbee, Grace Stockman; alto — Emma Cline, Vivian Searcy; tenor — Spencer Christensen, Sawyer Courtney, Colin Thompson; bass — Ezra Harman-Wood, Caleb Johnson, Noah Potvin, Tyler Shaw, Davis Walter. Ensembles: Flute choir, percussion choir, woodwind choir, brass choir, brass quintet (K. Kelly, N. Peterson, Volz, Madsen, Walker); trombone duet — Searcy and C. Thompson; trumpet quartet (Peterson, K. Kelly, M. Goodner, Zoulek); flute trio (Kueny, Hawthorn, McGee); flute duet — Hiner and Hawthorn; piccolo duet — McGee and Hawthorn; string duets — Weis and Ko, Kutz and L. Severtson, Lundtvedt and Cline, Joyce and Bonnet; violin quartet (Weis, Opheim, P. Bellrichard and Ko); violin quartet (Kutz, Huang, L. Severtson and Christensen); junior/senior chamber orchestra; vocal duets — M. Hiner and C. Thompson, N. and S. Potvin; madrigal singers; CC chamber singers; VC chamber choir; ninth-grade treble clef vocal ensemble; junior vocal quartet; junior treble clef vocal ensemble; senior treble clef vocal ensemble; junior bass clef vocal ensemble; senior bass clef vocal ensemble; ninth-grade bass clef ensemble. Division II — Excellent ratings Solos: Piccolo — Sophia McGee; saxophone — Eden Scheidel, Per Weir; clarinet — Anna Severtson; trumpet — Max Goodner, Nils Peterson; French horn — Nathaniel Crose; trombone — Fox Lana; euphonium — Evan Madsen; percussion — Jackson Irwin, Quinn Peterson; violin — Olivia Blake, Kenyon Bartels; viola — Keegan Joyce, Madysen Lippe; cello — Pranav Caton; string bass — June Fassbinder; soprano — Simone Downing, Jayden Lundtvedt, Sophia McGee, Veda Shimek, Jillian Volz; alto — Kaya Johnson, Violet Martinsen-Burrell, Olivia Rissman; tenor — Nathaniel Crose; bass — Kenyon Bartels, Lawrence Christman, William Duder, Max Goodner, Derek Hrdlicka, Keegan Joyce, Simon Potvin, Carter Riley, Graham Torkelson. Ensembles: French horn duet — Crose and J. Volz; clarinet/flute duet — Newhouse and S. Downing; trumpet/trombone duet — N. Peterson and Madsen; tuba trio (Walker, Bentley, S. Potvin); percussion ensembles; string duets; Baba Yetu ensemble; freshman/sophomore chamber orchestra; vocal duet — Searcy and Cline; ninth-grade chamber choir; CC chamber choir; sophomore bass clef vocal ensemble; junior/senior bass clef vocal ensemble; junior bass clef vocal trio; ninth-grade treble clef vocal ensemble; sophomore treble clef vocal ensembles. Students were accompanied on piano by Dean Beckman, Mike Ellingsen, Chris Hadley, Serina Hallquist, Du Huang, Miko Kominami, Linda Martin, Kayla Scholl, David Severtson, Nicholas Shaneyfelt and Adrianna Tam. Be the first to know! Sign up for the free newsletter and unlock exclusive updates, breaking news, and tips from around the community.