By Elizabeth Kneisley
Staff Writer
This event was put on by the Manhattan Beach Rotary Club. About 50 students participated in the Rotary competition for soloists, but only six band members garnered the judges’ attention and made it to the final round.
“It’s a really great opportunity for high school musicians to get a chance to perform solos that they aren’t often able to do and to be recognized for their talents,” senior Katie Moinpour said.
The preliminary round of the competition took place on Feb. 1. Former music educators in Manhattan Beach judged students based on their overall performance and selected players for the final round.
The final round took place on March 4 and six Mira Costa students were selected to compete. College music directors judged this round to determine who would walk away with a title. In the 11th and 12th-grade division, junior Kara Gieseking won first place; Moinpour second; and senior Kimi Beck third. In the 9th and 10th-grade division sophomore Isaac Siegemund-Broka won first; sophomore Jackson Webster second; and sophomore Axel Zwissler third.
“I thought everyone performed wonderfully, and the winners of both divisions had especially captivating performances,” band director Joel Carlson said.
Gieseking played the song “Third Movement of a Flute Concerto” by Jacques Ibert on the flute. She practiced with her mother, who was the piano accompanist for the competition.
“I don’t really think of anything except the music when I play,” Gieseking said. “If I make a mistake, I just tell myself to keep going and not to focus on it or the fact that I’m being judged. I focus on the fact that I’m being given a chance to perform what I’ve been working on for so long.”
Moinpour played “Nocturne et Allegro Scherzando” by Gaubert on the flute. Beck also played the flute and performed “Concertino” by Chaminade. Both students have been playing the flute for eight years. They, as well as Gieseking, were the only flautists in the competition.
“It was a really exciting moment for Kimi, Kara and me when we were announced as winners,” Moinpour said. “None of us was really expecting the judges to give awards to three people who play flutes.”
Siegemund-Broka performed the first movement of Carl Maria Von Weber’s “Concerto No. 1” on the clarinet. He has been playing clarinet for seven years.
“I was very happy to get first place and the accompanying cash prize. While I enjoy playing mainly for the music, it’s nice to be recognized. I look forward to competing again next year, although next time I will be in the upperclassmen division for 11th and 12th graders,” Siegemund-Broka said.
Webster played the alto saxophone and performed the song “Carnival of Venice” by Jules Demersseman. Zwissler played the piece “Weber Bassoon Concerto” on the bassoon for the judges.
“It was really an honor to be recognized along with all the other musicians there,” Webster said. “The Rotary Competition gives the students an opportunity to show off their individual talents, something which is difficult to do in a concert band setting.”
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