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Woodlands Academy musicians earn Gold awards in contest

Submitted by Woodlands Academy

Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart's music department won a total of 14 top awards, both group and individual, during the WorldStrides Heritage Festival April 15-18 in the District of Columbia.

The all-girls college prep high school from Lake Forest was the smallest of the 12 schools from five states and Canada that sent a total of 37 vocal and instrumental ensembles comprised of 1,100 students to the competition.

For the first time, all of Woodlands Academy's entrants - the Kaleidoscope choir, under the direction of Elizabeth Kurowski; the student-led Microscope chamber choir, under the direction of Marissa Howe; and the Woodlands Symphonic Orchestra, under the direction of Lauren Moldenhauer - won Gold awards this year.

This was the first Gold for any Woodlands Academy orchestra or instrumental ensemble. Due to their Gold awards, all three groups received special invitations to the Festival of Gold competitions, as well as the Carnegie Hall Invitational.

Other group awards won by Woodlands Academy musicians were:

• Sweepstakes Award trophy: The combined scores of the school's two choirs were the basis of this honor, which goes to the top choral program.

• Two Adjudicators' awards: Given at the judges' discretion, this award is for the best/most memorable performance of the day. Woodlands' orchestra was selected for this honor out of all of the instrumental ensembles competing, and Kaleidoscope was chosen from among all choral ensembles.

Additional honors brought home by these musicians included five individual Maestro awards, which are given by the judges to recognize the profound musical contributions of a student within her or his ensemble. Only 12 were awarded during the entire competition.

Woodlands Academy recipients were junior Elizabeth Bartusiak of Lake Forest (violin soloist, orchestra), sophomore Qiu Ran Dong of China (piano accompanist, Kaleidoscope), senior Willa Hart of Winnetka (cello soloist, orchestra), senior Marissa Howe of Hoffman Estates (music director, Microscope) and junior Shiyu Wang of China (assistant director, Microscope).

"Lauren and I are immensely proud of the efforts put forth by the students, as well as the plethora of awards they received," Kurowski said. "The music program continues to grow and reach new heights each year, and we all are excited to see where the future will lead."

The community will have the opportunity to hear the musical selections performed in the nation's capitol, plus others, when the choirs and orchestra perform at 7 p.m. May 19 during Woodlands Academy's annual Fine Arts Festival.

For more information about Woodlands Academy, visit www.woodlandsacademy.org

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The Kaleidoscope choir, led by Elizabeth Kurowski, was one of Woodlands Academy's three Gold award winners at the recent WorldStrides Heritage Festival in Washington, D.C. The Microscope choir and symphonic orchestra also won gold. Courtesy of Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart
Woodlands Academy's five Maestro Award winners, from left, Marissa Howe, Shiyu Wang, Qiu Ran Dong, Willa Hart and Elizabeth Bartusiak. Courtesy of Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart
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