Orange County District Solo & Ensemble Festival was held at Apopka High School this past weekend, February 9-10. WPS had 10 students participate. It is quite an experience for our Wind Ensemble musicians. They prepare a solo for weeks to perform for a professional adjudicator who is an expert on their particular instrument (Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet, etc.). The growth I see in our musicians from this experience is amazing!

I was very proud of each one. We received 4 superior ratings, 4 excellent ratings and 2 good ratings. Please congratulate the following students as you see them this week:

Sam Sharma, Katie Crofton, Jacqui Conlon, Johnny Geller, Emma Griffith, Ethan Jiang, Paige Leber, Frank Zhang, Gavin Dong, Connor Totilas.

Photos of Connor Totilas and Paige Leber performing their solos with their piano accompanist for the adjudicator.

Kindergarten students study the artist Jim Dine and create their own heart paintings!

Another sunny and happy day here in LA! Although the dancers were sore and tired from dancing on Friday, it didn’t stop them from wanting more! Today they participated in a contemporary workshop with dancers from the LA Contemporary Dance Co. and a hip-hop class at the famous Millenium Dance Complex. We indulged with a big dinner on the Santa Monica pier and had a ball riding rides on the pier on the beautiful Pacific coast. It’s been a tremendous trip and I think that if they could, they would stay a few more days!

Warning: WPS Dancers are on FIRE here in LA! We can’t believe how amazing they have been!

Today, the dancers took classes with incredible teachers at the notable EDGE Performing Arts Center. They were pretty psyched to learn that their jazz teacher, Eddie Garcia, was a backup dancer for Michael Jackson and a dancer in the music video for Smooth Criminal. This evening, we were moved deeply by a private performance from the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company of their recent sold-out show entitled Rift.

Everyone is safe and sound and catching some z’s! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s update.

Today’s Teachers:
Eddie Garcia- Jazz
Ami Mattison- Contemporary
Baden Silva- Contemporary
Bobby Amamizu- Ballet

We are pleased to share with everyone that the proscenium beam has been placed above the stage floor. Construction continues to move quickly.