When athletic seasons culminate at NCSD high schools throughout the school year, it’s a rare honor for an NCSD student to receive all-state recognition, especially with thousands of students competing statewide for limited slots.
Yet nearly 50 North Clackamas students recently earned that coveted ultimate recognition…not for an outstanding performance playing a sport, but for an equally impressive performance playing an instrument or showing off their vocal range.
Each year, the Oregon Music Education Association invites students across Oregon to audition for a part in the state’s top prep band, orchestra, and choir. Tryouts can include memorizing a technical piece, singing or playing alongside accompanying lyrics, and performing a challenging set of scales. Hundreds of elementary, middle, and high school students practice countless hours for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform with grade level peers under the guidance of highly esteemed conductors.
“One takeaway from the director was the importance of posture when playing,” said Milwaukie High School senior Jacob McGinley, who proudly played his alto saxophone in the all-state High School Wind Ensemble throughout the weekend-long event in Eugene. Especially after not making the cut in his initial audition as a junior, this year’s performance was extra special for the 17-year-old. “We played with bad posture first, then he had us sit up straight with our heads aligned. Once we did that, it sounded a million times better.”
McGinley wasn’t the only North Clackamas musician or vocalist sitting up straight as an OMEA All-State selection, as student names from NCSD’s middle and high schools could be located up and down the list of all-state selections, including performers from Alder Creek, Happy Valley, and Rock Creek middle schools, along with additional high school standouts from Rex Putnam, Clackamas, and Adrienne C. Nelson high schools.
“I wasn’t as surprised as I was last year,” said Rock Creek eighth grader Aralea Palioca, who also sang in the all-state Middle School Treble Choir as a seventh grader a year ago. “I’ve been singing as long as I can remember, and I loved hanging out with a bunch of new friends and getting to sing with them.”
Alder Creek eighth grader Tristan Parker also pulled off the rare feat of earning all-state Middle School Band recognition two straight years—not bad considering he didn’t start playing the tuba until sixth grade. “I was pretty excited,” said the 14-year-old. “The directors said two years in a row doesn’t happen very often, so I’m pretty proud of myself.”
All-state recognition wasn’t limited to NCSD students either, as Rock Creek’s Choir instructor Sarah Strobel earned the prestigious Outstanding Early Career Music Educator Award, presented to one nominee statewide with less than seven years of teaching experience.
“It was great. I thought I blacked out a little bit as I went up to receive it, but it was awesome,” said the fifth-year teacher. “It’s special to have multiple nominations sent in by my coworkers, and my principal also wrote a very nice letter saying how much she thought I deserved it.”
Huge congratulations to all the NCSD musicians recognized as all-state by the OMEA:
