With the bus primed and ready to go at 7:45 a.m., the Cotter symphonic band was on their way to show their musical talent to three judges in Byron.

In the past, both the Cotter symphonic and concert band have received three superiors for many years. The  talented bands were once again expected to uphold this tradition.

The two pieces that were being performed by the symphonic band for the judges were American Riversongs by Pierre LaPlante, and Passages by Michael Sweeney.

The performance, as reflected on by the judges, was spectacular and “filled with musical passion”.  The symphonic band scored superiors from each judge.

In order to gain a superior from a judge, the performance has to receive a 36 out of the 40 possible points.

Second year band director Rick Peters had this to say regarding the spectacular performance, “I always go into a large group contest hoping to receive a high rating.  That said, I’m also always a little stressed in wondering if I did enough to prepare the band to get a good score.  I can never really relax until I see the ratings.  Luckily for me and the Cotter bands, the last two years have been a resounding success at contest.”

When asked if there were any emotions or feelings present at the performances, he replied, “Absolutely!  You always want the band to play all the notes and rhythms correctly and it is an added bonus when they also perform with a high degree of feelings and emotions.  That’s what makes a performance memorable. On a personal note, when one of the judges began talking about how the band played with such heart and emotions I was so proud of the band. THAT is the ultimate compliment for a musician and teacher.”

Several symphonic band members joined the concert choir as they warmed up before their performance.  Whether the acoustics in the rooms above the church inspired Cathy Snyder to believe in her choir or she had been planning to add Hallelujah Chorus to our performance all along and forgotten mention it, 92 singers were surprised to find out they would be bringing back the highlight of this year’s Christmas concert, which had received a standing ovation during it’s last performance.

After entering the performance space inside the church, the choir began with one of their most loved songs, “Sanctuary.” Next on the set list came one of the songs the choir had performed at their spring concert the week before, “Al Shlosha D’Varim,” followed by another one of their concert pieces, “Loch Lomond”, which featured soloists Ben Matzke, freshman, and Matthew Masyga, senior. Two songs remained, and each singer needed to summon every scrap of strength inside of them to win over their audience. Cotter Concert Choir serenaded their audience amazing rendition of Eric Whitacre’s “Seal Lullaby,” a significant improvement from their performance of the same song at the spring concert. They were rewarded with enthusiastic applause.

The three songs already completed would have been enough to impress, but director Snyder had other plans. She breathed deeply, preparing herself for the finale, the bold, the brilliant “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah. Many students worried through warmups, as Mrs.Snyder had only just informed them that they were performing the challenging piece from December’s concert. For a moment, silence and anticipation consumed the church.

Sudden echoes of crisp “Hallelujah” cut through, and the worries of student and director alike seemed to vanish, leaving only the music. Jaws dropped. Normally inattentive eyes were wide, chatty mouths gaping. Cathy Snyder’s mouth was  smiling as she cut off our final chord and the audience went wild, actually “whooping,” according to senior Molly Corcoran. Even Mrs.Snyder, having gone to contest for years, has never heard that much applause from other school choirs.

The Cotter concert choir received superior rankings from all three judges, the best possible ranking a choir can receive. Moreover, one judge said that they were one of the best choirs he had ever heard. At least two were surprised the group was unauditioned, as many choirs of this caliber are. The feedback from two of three judges had no comments to improve the singing but said that facial expressions were lacking. The third judge had one constructive comment; she told the choir to make sure their mouths always match the vowel they are singing. Mrs.Snyder was spotted nodding in the background and exchanging glances with various students.

Cathy Snyder was extremely pleased with how the day went: everything from the orderly manner in which the choir gathered their robes and stoles to comments from the judges exceeded anything the Cotter choir had done in a while. She sang their praises while dining in the Apache Mall food court with choir members. “The choir was phenomenal. I was very proud of how hard they worked performed. I was really happy with the day.”

Snyder was not alone in her satisfaction with the contest. Several seniors felt that it was the perfect way to leave their high school choir careers.

The concert band left around noon and had to try to live up to the high standards gained by the symphonic band.
Aztec Fire by Jay Bocook and In Times of Triumph by James Swearingen were the two contest pieces for this young group.  Filled with 9th and 10th graders, the concert band followed suit with the symphonic band and achieved a superior from each judge.