3A Ends in a Tie

As the 2009 OSAA Band and Orchestra Championships unfolded at the LaSells Stewart Center on the Oregon State University Campus, a mix of familiar names and new performers claim trophies. And the 3A competition ends in a tie, something no longer possible in many activities, but an occaisional outcome for the instrumenalists.

The 3A competition openen the week Wednesday morning, and defending champion Warrenton, under the direction of John Hammond, claimed another first place trophy, but only a share of the title, as Jefferson, directed by Heather Clark, also posted the same score of 257.

Grant Union garnered third, with 221 points, and Gold Beach got fourth, with 216 points.

4A a FarWest Affair

4A bands performed Wednesday afternoon and evening, and Douglas, last year's third place band, used a performance that received a standing ovation to score 306 points, and claim the 4A title by a solid margin under the direction of Robert Carwithin.

Fellow FarWest conference member Siuslaw of Florence followed in second, with 289 points, for director Steve Conaton, and led a coastal contingent that took three of the top five spots.

Defending 4A champion Cascade from Turner claimed their fourth consecutive trophy, this time the third place hardware, with 282 points. A pair of Cowapa Conference bands rounded out the top five, with Seaside fourth, only one point behind Cascade, withi 281 points, and Astoria fifth, with 278 points.

Mike Wallmark, OSAA Associate Executive Director in charge of the Music competition, noted "The depth of the 4A competition has gotten to be outstanding, making it very tough to separate the competition."

Mid-Willamette Takes Three of Top Four 5A Trophies

Thursday, the 5A bands performed, and Director Kristine Janes' Crecent Valley squad, one of the co-hosts with Corvallis, improved on last year's second place finish with 313 points, and the 5A title.

Summit High School of Bend, Directed by Dan Judd, claimed second with a 300 point performance, while the Mid-Willamette claimed the next two spots. West Albany posted a score of 284 points for third, just four points ahead of fourth place Corvallis' score of 280. The two Corvallis schools were the only two from last year's 5A top five to return to the top five.

Glencoe of Hillsboro rounded out the top five with 270 points.

2A a Repeat for Riddle

Riddle defended their 2A/1A title, as Director Martin Follose's musicians posted a score of 290 points, again edging Kennedy of Mt. Angel, under the direction of Nathan Parker, who scored 284 points. Kennedy came in second to Riddle last year as well, and also trailed the Irish in third when Riddle took second behind Corbett in 2007.

The Triad School of Klamath Falls claimed third with 262 points, edging fourth place Corbett, who posted  258 points. Corbett claimed fourth last year as well.

CV Shares String Orchestra Title

Just as in the last couple of years, Crescent Valley was the only 5A school to get a String Orchestra trophy away from the 6A ranks, and this year, Director Charles Creighton's contingent got a share of the title. The Raiders' 320 points matched the total posted by Sprague High of Salem, under the direction of Dijana Ihas, and produced the second shared title of the week.

Defending champion Reynolds from Troutdale was a close third, with a total of 315 points, while South Salem, the 2007 champion, snared fourth with 291 points. Lake Oswego rounded out the top five with a score of 269 points.

Reynolds Repeats as Full Orchestra Champion

Reynolds became the second school to defend a title when the Raiders claimed the full orchestra competition. Directed by Ben Brooks, Reynolds claimed the top spot with a score of 306 points.

South Salem, directed by MaryLou Boderman and Brandon Correa, led a Salem sweep ot the remaining full orchestra trophies, claiming their second consecutive second place finish with 302 points.

West Salem wound up third, posting a score of 255 points, and Sprague finished fourth, with 244 points.

(The 2A class and the Full Orchestra divisions awarded only four trophies due to the smaller field of qualified entranta.)

Southridge Snares 6A Title

Four days of outstanding musical competition concluded Saturday, with the 6A symphonic band event, and Southridge, directed by Todd Zimbelman, claimed a narrow 318-316 win over Reynolds, again under the direction of Ben Brooks, as was their orchestra.

South Salem, who had claimed the last two 6A titles, was a close third, with 313 points, followed by cross-town rival West Salem High School, in fourth with  301 points. Lake Oswego repeated their fifth place orchestra placing with another fifth place in the symphonic band competition, with 293 points.

CC

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