Guitar Students Chosen for All-Virginia Ensemble

Guitar+Students+Chosen+for+All-Virginia+Ensemble

Seven students from Potomac Falls were selected to be a part of the All- Virginia Guitar Ensemble.

To be selected, there is an open audition process where guitarists are recorded playing a piece that is then sent to judges across the United States. The students go through a blind audition and are assessed on note accuracy, pitch accuracy, and musical interpretation. After the judges scored each student, their results were averaged into a final score.

Seven out of the 42 students selected for the All-Virginia Ensemble were from Potomac Falls: senior Vincent D’Agostino, senior Alex Caraballa, senior Jafar Moukalled, junior John Le, junior Carlos Olivares, junior Brady Hurlich, and sophomore Anishka Fadque. Senior Vincent D’Agostino has been selected the past three years.

“It’s bittersweet that this is going to be my last performance, but it’s been an honor, and I’m glad I had the chance to perform with them and represent Potomac Falls,” said D’Agostino.

On Wednesday, November 15, those seven students attended the 2017 Virginia Music Education Association Convention for the three-day event. The event includes workshops, presentations on new and different technology, and of course, performances.

“It’s fun to be part of it; it’s another good experience. I went last year, so I know it’s fun,” said Olivares.

Another one of the guitar program’s events is Solo Night. This year, it was on November 1. Guitar students signed up for a slot and performed in the Black Box.

“It really showcases the individual students musical passion,” said William Wells, Director of Guitar. “The guitar is a very weird hybrid of both ensemble and solo instrument. I feel it’s important to have a solos night event to demonstrate the individual student and show case their amazing awesomeness.”

The event is also popular among students. Freshman Andres Rodriguez, sophomore Anushka Fadque, sophomore Shreya Fadque, sophomore Sophia Varoujanian, sophomore Liam Salusky, sophomore Kelvin Cabrera, junior John Le, junior Carlos Olivares, junior Brady Hurlich, and senior Vincent D’Agostino all played at the event. Olivares challenged himself by playing “Grenada by Zach Albanese, which was originally written for piano, and “New Ash, a French jazz piece.

“Nothing was easy; I pick challenging pieces. There were a couple of easy parts in some sections, [but] most of the song was difficult,” said Olivares.

D’Agostino also chose a difficult piece, a fugue piece from Bach’s 998 Suite. “[It was hard] because Bach is a very subjective composer I think, and everybody has their own interpretation of his music, so not everybody is going to like how he plays his music, but people prefer what they prefer,” said D’Agostino.