Music to Our Ears

Northfield Mount Hermon’s Music Department hit a historic milestone this winter, when 30 student musicians were selected to perform in the Massachusetts Western District Music Festival on Jan. 18 at Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham.

Organized by the Massachusetts Music Educators Association, the festival provides students the chance to perform advanced-level music with college and professional conductors in four groups: Jazz Ensemble, Concert Band, Concert Choir, and Symphony Orchestra.

The NMH students selected to play in the festival include members of the Concert Band, Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Select Treble Ensemble, NMH Singers, and Honors Jazz Combo. Every NMH senior instrumental who applied to the festival received first- or second-chair honors for their instrument. Of the 30 students selected for the Western District Festival, 18 scored high enough in their audition to be recommended to try out for the Massachusetts All-State Festival, which will be held in Boston on March 29. 

“This is the first time we have had this level of achievement and participation from NMH students,” said Ron Smith, chair of the NMH Music Department, who also serves as the senior jazz manager for the Western District Jazz Ensemble in the festival. “This level of accomplishment shows how important the NMH music programs are to this generation and how we stack up among our peer public and private schools.”

Skylar Tian ’25 – now in her fourth year participating in the Western District Festival’s Concert Choir – credits the dedication of NMH music teachers like choral director Alexandra Ludwig for setting a high standard and encouraging students to audition for the festival.

Tian said the event offers student musicians the opportunity to perform in larger groups and experience what it’s like to sing in a full concert choir.

“The district choir is a solid 150 people,” said Tian. “Everyone has a lot of music expertise, so we can make the dynamic changes really dramatic.”

Senior Fiona Cutchins ’25, a bassoonist who is also in her fourth year playing in Western Districts, said festivals like this offer her a chance to network with other bassoon players.

“It's really cool to play next to them and also interesting to see the different personalities,” she said. “There's kind of like a little bassoon community.”

Cutchins said going through the process of auditioning for Western District has helped to grow her confidence in performing.

“I remember my sophomore year, when I went in for my audition, I was literally shaking, I was so scared,” Cutchins recalled. “When I went in this year, I was so calm. Having to repeat that experience over and over again allowed me to not freak out about it, which made it so much more enjoyable.”

Smith said he isn’t surprised that NMH was so well-represented in the festival, noting that the school places a high value on developing highly-proficient musicians. His mission as an instructor is to instill a sense of discipline in students and to challenge them to take the next steps in their musical journey.

“It's really teaching them more about how to develop their skills,” said Smith. “There's always something you can improve upon. If you become stagnant and conform to where you're at, then you're settling.”

Participating in events like Western District provides a chance for NMH’s music program to showcase its students’ dedication and passion, as well as the school’s diverse musical offerings, Smith said. “You probably won’t find 10 other private schools with a jazz or world music percussion ensemble.”

NMH students who were chosen to perform at the festival were:

• Keona Burch '25
• Sara Carrion '25
• Henry Castillo '25
• Lucas Chin '28
• Caleb Chung '26
• Eavan Connelly '27
• Fiona Cutchins '25
• Nikolaus Erdos '25
• Charlotte Helgeson '28
• Zane Hong '27
• Sophie Jin '28
• Nielsen Kasser '25
• Emily Liu '27
• Unandi Lungu '25
• Angelina Marakaeva '26
• Connor Marshall '25
• Liann Gao Mejia '28
• Frank Nguyen '28
• Henry Ormont '26
• Charlotte Relyea-Strawn '26
• Esme Robinson '26
• Amelia Sabetti '27
• Anna McKenzie Sherer '28
• William Silvester '26
• Aurora Song '26
• Skylar Tian '25
• Max Wang '25
• Maxwell Wu '27
• Olivia Yim '26
• Samantha Zhong '26