A Year of Great Accomplishments for the Loveland Schools Music Department

Loveland Schools Music Department has earned numerous honors and accolades during the 2019-2020 School Year

NEWS RELEASE: Susanne Quigley, Chief Information Officer, Loveland Schools

LOVELAND, OH – With an abundance of gifted student-musicians led by accomplished music teachers across the district, the Loveland Schools Music Department has earned numerous honors and accolades to date in the 2019-20 school year.

Regional, State and National Performances

In the fall, the Loveland High School (LHS) Marching Band competed at the Bands of America Grand National Championships with 100 other bands from across the United States, exceeding expectations as a first-time participant by placing 67^th overall in the competition. The band will be traveling to New York City next month to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and to attend a private workshop with a Broadway performer and director.

Students performed at the 2020 Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) Professional Development Conference at the Duke Energy Center in January. LHS Senior Jack Armstrong auditioned last spring for the All-State Orchestra and earned a spot as one of the three highest-ranking high school trombonists in the state.

The Cincinnati Symphony Youth Concert Orchestra performed at the OMEA conference as well, with Loveland students Teri Clark (violin), Alton French (bassoon), Calvin Spencer (trumpet) and Jonathan Kaseff (percussion). Teri Clark also represented Loveland at the regional Overture Awards in January – the area’s largest solo arts competition for high school students with judges drawn from the local professional arts community. Kaseff, an eighth-grader from Loveland Middle School (LMS) represents Loveland not only in the CSYO Concert Orchestra and the Northern Kentucky Youth Symphony Orchestra, but also in the Cincinnati Youth Wind Ensemble along with his classmate Jake Simon (tuba).

LHS Juniors Luke Faessler (bass) and Diana Clark (viola) are both members of the highly selective Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra Philharmonic. As a second-year member of the Philharmonic, Faessler performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at its 125th-anniversary celebration concert in January. Noah Elliott (bass) from Loveland Middle School is a member of the auditioned Cincinnati Junior Strings through the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).

Regarded as one of the top high school jazz bands in the region, the LHS Jazz Orchestra will be performing at the Essentially Ellington Festival at CCM on February 22. The students will be working with CCM jazz faculty and members of Jazz at Lincoln Center throughout the day. Jett Stevens (percussion) and Calvin Spencer will represent the Loveland Jazz Program in the OMEA District 14 Honor Jazz Band at Princeton High School on February 23. (For all Honor Band participants, see the list below.)  In addition, Stevens, who plays with several ensembles at LHS, was recently selected for the 2021 Bands of America Honor Band in the Rose Parade® in Pasadena, California. He is also a member of the Greater Cincinnati Youth Jazz Collaborative and of the Cincinnati Prep Jazz Combo at CCM with LHS Senior Simon Grome. 

The Loveland Show Choirs – Revolution, Allure, and By Request, accompanied by the Show Band – are in the midst of an outstanding season. LMS Revolution earned Grand Champion at both Beavercreek Invitational and Northrop Classique Invitational, the largest middle school contest they ever participated in.

 Allure, the all-female show choir from LHS, also had great showings at the two competitions. By Request, was named the 2020 Grand Champion of the Sauk Prairie Invitational in Wisconsin as well as the Northrop Invitational, including winning the best vocal caption. All three groups will finish out their year by traveling to Ross, South Dearborn and Fairfield. A number of choir students received “1” (superior) ratings at the OMEA Solo and Ensemble contest earlier this month, as did a long list of Loveland musicians performing solo or in chamber ensembles.

“We are fortunate at Loveland to have so many students committed to more than just fulfilling minimum requirements, but also choosing to take their music education to the next level,” said LHS Band Director Geoff Miller. “We have hundreds of students involved in programs that require dedication and hard work both before and after school. Many student-musicians also contribute their talents in the Greater Cincinnati arts community and both perform and compete at a very high level.”

Building a Pipeline of Talent

As with any successful high school program, a strong feeder program is the foundation for creating a pipeline of talent moving up. This year, younger students in the district have had opportunities to collaborate and perform with musicians at the high school. Mallet Madness – the advanced fourth-grade percussion ensemble from Loveland Elementary School – will perform with the LHS String Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra on February 27. Earlier in the year, a choir from LES performed with the Show Choirs.

“It is amazing to see how the musical seed that is planted in the elementary grades grows and flourishes as the child turns into a young musician,” said Mallet Madness Director Michele Henn.

Upcoming Concerts

The year is by far not over for music at Loveland and there are still plenty of opportunities to catch the student-musicians on stage. First graders at Loveland Early Childhood Center will perform the musical “How Does Your Garden Grow?” alongside an art show and open house on Fine Arts Night (March 19). The Spring Showcase at Loveland Primary School (March 2-4) will feature the songs and dances that the students have learned throughout the year, highlighting rhythms, movement, singing and instrument-playing, including songs that the students have written themselves.

Spring concerts and competitions will take place at all schools across the district over the next few months. For a full schedule of events, visit the district’s web calendar.

A full list of OMEA Honor Band, Orchestra Participants and additional gallery of photos is available on Loveland Schools Website