Musicians Earn Top Honors at State Solo and Ensemble Festival

University School of Milwaukee Middle School and Upper School musicians recently participated in the Wisconsin School Music Association’s State Solo and Ensemble Festival, held on Saturday, April 27. Students earned medals for their Class A music performances. 

In order to qualify for the state level, students had to earn a “starred first” rating in Class A, which consists of the most difficult music, at the district level. “These students spent hours upon hours practicing and fine tuning (no pun intended) their difficult music selections to represent USM at this level,” said Ellen Shuler, Middle School and Upper School music teacher. “We are so proud of them.”

Congratulations to the medalists:

Gold medal recipients
Joseph Amiot ’29: Soprano Solo
Joseph Amiot ’29 and Kiran Ramanujam ’29: Vocal Duet
Emery Domer ’28: Musical Theatre
Summer Klingbail ’28: Musical Theatre
Iris Liu ’28: Piano Solo
Ainsley Polston ’28: Soprano Solo; Musical Theatre
Ainsley ’28 and Edie Polston ’25: Vocal Duet
Alex Chen ’25: Violin Solo
Chloe Chen ’27: Violin Solo
Alex ’25 and Chloe ’27 Chen: Violin Duet
Gi Gi Cooks ’26: Soprano Solo; Musical Theatre
Sofia De Torre ’25: Viola Solo
Autumn Heffernan ’25: Flute Solo
Zoë Manning ’26: Soprano Solo
Nathan Merriweather ’24: Saxophone Solo
Amelia Otjen ’25: Soprano Solo
Ethan Robledo-Perez ’24: Musical Theatre; Tenor Solo
Maia Scherman ’27: Alto Solo
Laya Sumithra ’25: Musical Theatre
Raymond Yang ’27: Piano Solo

Silver medal recipients
Lauren Abele ’28: Soprano Solo
Benji De Torre ’28: Violin Solo
Augie Markwald ’29: Cello Solo
Zaara Bonilla ’25: Violin Solo
Elina Cheng ’27: Violin Solo
Lesley Jimenez ’26: Violin Solo
Amelia Otjen ’25: Musical Theatre
Maia Scherman ’27: Musical Theatre
Laya Sumithra ’25: Soprano Solo
Raymond Yang ’27: Violin Solo

Comment only
CJ Jacobsen ’29