NHS students attend state music conference

Avery Chick
NLJ Intern
 
For three days in January (16-18), three Newcastle High School students attended the Wyoming Music Educators Association’s 75th State Music Conference in Rock Springs. 
The conference  allowed the students to connect with other musicians around the state. In order to qualify for the event conference, all three students had to pass an in-person audition at Thunder Basin High School a few weeks preceding the conference. The students who would receive the musical accolades were Maggie Lorenz, Duncan Cox and Avery Chick.
The audition tested the students’ abilities in music, including overall tone, note accuracy, sight reading and other musical attributes. 
“The sight reading is the hardest part of the audition, and it’s really what sets kids apart from each other,” Cox said.
Once chosen, the students then attended the conference in Rock Springs. The conference is similar to other events, such as district clinics. These events typically consist of a select group of musicians from around the state who perform under a clinician for a couple of days and then put on a concert for the public. 
Cox has been selected  three times and Chick, twice. Lorenz received her first recognition this year. The three traveled with their choir instructor, Jan Ellis, to Rock Springs so they could participate in the 2022 conference.