Tecumseh music students perform at state events

Tecumseh Public Schools were well represented at recent music events at both the middle-school and high school levels. On the weekend of January 18-19, Tecumseh Middle School (TMS) students participated in the Michigan School Vocal Music Association Middle School (MSVMA)/Junior High Honors Choirs, with two students selected for the High School Honors Choirs. One student also played in the All-State Middle School/Junior High Honors Orchestra, and one student played in the High School All-State Band.“These are incredibly competitive ensembles and it is an honor to be selected,” said Mary Hoffmeister, TMS Vocal Music Director. “It was wonderful that Tecumseh was so well represented in this statewide event.”Over 2,500 students auditioned to be a part of one of the All-State Bands and Orchestras this year. Alex Lammers was selected as one of the top 16 middle-school viola players in the state to participate in the prestigious event. The All-State Middle School Bands and Orchestras rehearsed together for two full days and performed at the 2014 Michigan Music Conference in Grand Rapids.Tricia Calkins, currently a junior at Tecumseh High School, started playing the tuba between her fourth and sixth grade years. Her teachers have been her father, Robert N. Calkins, and Fritz Kaenzig, Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Michigan. She has performed solos in the Michigan School Band and Orchestra sanctioned Solo and Ensembles Festivals since seventh grade, consistently receiving first divisions at the district level in middle school and high school, and state level while in high school. She was selected for the All-State Band during her eighth, ninth and 11th grade years and the Michigan Youth Arts Festival Band and Concerto Competition while in 10th grade, in addition to the Tecumseh High School Band and Orchestra. Tricia has been a member of the University of Michigan Youth Band both as a sophomore and junior, and Youth Orchestra in her junior year. She is also Principal Tuba of the Oakland Youth Symphony Orchestra at Oakland University. She has spent five consecutive summers as a camper at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lakes, performing in the bands and orchestra. The past two camp seasons, she has also attended drama classes.Tecumseh High School (THS) senior Sarah Kelly sang in the MSVMA SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) Honors Choir this year. She was selected as one of the featured soloists for the closing concert number, “He Never Failed Me Yet.”THS junior Sarah Hodgman participated in the MSVMA SSAA (Soprano, Soprano, Alto, Alto) Honors Choir this year. This is Sarah’s third year qualifying for the State Honors Choirs. This past fall, she sang with the National High School Honors Choir.This is the first time Tecumseh Middle School Choirs have been represented in the MSVMA Honors Choirs. Four eighth grade choir members, Josh Bauer, Jacob Caywood, Sam Dickerson, and Corbin Wright, and two seventh grade choir members, Tom Hodgman and Hunter Stines, were selected to be a part of the first ever all men TTB (Tenor, Tenor, Bass) Middle School/Junior High Honors Choir. Two of those members, Caywood and Hodgman, were part of a select eight-member ensemble to sing the opening verse of “Colorado Trail,” during the concert.“We are so proud of these students,” said Hoffmeister. “We are also proud of all of our impressive music programs in Tecumseh — in band, orchestra and choir — that are continually represented in all Michigan Music Honors Ensembles on an annual basis.