Over sixty musically inclined students put all their notes out on the table for the annual OMEA Solo and Ensemble contest.

Revere High School has taken part in this competition for the past eighteen years. This year, students demonstrated talent with woodwinds, brass, strings, piano, percussion, and their voices through fifteen different solos and eighteen ensembles. Summit County and Medina County schools north of I-76 will attend Firestone Community Learning Center while those schools in Summit, Medina, Portage and Wayne Counties south of I-76 will attend Springfield High School.

Also for the past eighteen years, Music Director Darren Lebeau helped students with this competition by organizing the 120 concert band members into two separate bands. He works alongside Assistant Music Director Brian Rizzo. Lebeau commented on Revere’s two ensemble groups, Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble.

“Wind Ensemble has to [participate] because I make them do it. Symphonic Band can choose. We have two groups [of students] going from Symphonic Band. Then you [could] also take solos, like piano and string that we do not teach [at Revere]. Students can go as long as the sign up. I have some non-band kids that do piano solos and strings,” Lebeau said.

Students could participate in more than one event. Senior Matt Lerner has music pieces for two ensembles, two solos, and one piece to accompany another senior, flute player Paige Fritz.

“This will be my sixth year of ensemble competitions. For piano, I will be playing Fantasie Impromptu [by Frédéric Chopin]. For my trombone [solo], I will be playing Lani Grøndahl’s Concerto. I am part of the brass choir on trombone and a brass quartet on trombone,” said Lerner.

According to Lerner, concert band and these contests have some distinct differences compared to marching band, which takes place in the fall.

“You can’t spend as much time on the music. . . . [You] have to spend more time on marching [techniques] and drill. . . . and significantly less people do solo and ensemble. A lot of people who do marching band do not necessarily do concert band. . . . Concert band concerts are actually longer than marching band [pieces] because you are playing multiple songs and you are stopping in between for applause,” Lerner said.

Junior alto saxophone player Abby Hermann has participated in solo and ensemble contests since the seventh grade. Hermann commented on how she chose which piece of music she wanted to play.

“I picked one that I knew I would be able to play in a [comfortable] time frame but also one that would challenge me to be able to work towards it. . . . [For my pieces], Reflection in Fantasy is [my] solo, Shepard’s Hay is with a saxophone quintet, and Il Re Pastore is with the Wind Ensemble,” Hermann said.

Junior soprano saxophone Tylor Davis also plays in the saxophone quintet. This will be his second year taking part in solo and ensemble competitions. Davis commented on the piece itself and other members of the quintet.

“[Shepherd’s Hay] is a classic, old piece by Percy Granger, who is a phenomenal composer. . . . Other people in this quintet are Mark Yankovitz, John Wilson and Christian Kerchenski,” Davis said.

At the competition, students warmed up in classrooms designated for their high school. When it came time to perform, students brought their music and a stand into a separate classroom and play before the judges. LeBeau commented on how the music is scored.

“[These competitions are scored] same as marching band, [with a] one to five range, one being superior and five being poor. [The judges] have criteria of is it musical, is it rhythmically correct, is it dynamically correct, is the instrumentation correct,” Lebeau said.

The competition began at 8:00 am at Firestone High School on January 27 and continued throughout the day. The ensembles received ratings ranging from one to three. The next concert for all Concert Band members will be on February 22 at RHS.