Seward students to represent FUFSD at annual music festival

Four Seward students were selected to participate in the Orange County Music Educators Association’s Junior High All-County Festival this May.

Tyler Fleury, Caroline Maher and Aurora Peters were selected to be part of the All-County Chorus, while Anna Andrade was selected for the All-County Band. These students will rehearse at the festival at Monroe-Woodbury High School on May 2 and 3 and then perform on the afternoon of May 3.

Peters, an eighth grader and alto, is proud to be selected for the chorus and will be devoting significant time to prepare. “It was definitely a challenge,” Peters said. “Knowing I overcame the challenges and made it in, feels amazing.”

Maher, an eighth grader and soprano, is excited to perform at the festival and sing the songs that were chosen. She has been singing since she was little, but started taking it seriously around sixth grade by participating in shows and school concerts. She shared what performing in the festival means for her going forward. “This could mean that for future auditions like All-County Chorus, it would make me feel more prepared and boost my self-confidence about singing,” Maher explained.

If Maher could offer advice to inspiring singers it would be to try hard but also to not sweat the small stuff. “Sing what makes you happy,” Maher said. “For future shows and auditions, try not to be scared because some moments you may find difficult and flawed, others may find fascinating.”

Eighth grader Andrade, who plays the flute, is proud to follow in the footsteps of her older sister who made it into the Junior All-County Band when she was in eighth grade. The experience has shown Andrade that she does not have to be afraid to do something when she knows she did her best.

“It doesn’t matter if you succeed or fail, all that matters is how hard you worked and how much effort you put into it,” Andrade said. “If you live by that, you just might surprise yourself.”

Music teacher Mark Visconti noted that Seward is a small school that competes with larger Orange County schools so seeing his students be selected is a source of pride.

“Being selected for All-County means our students needed to prepare for a judged audition,” Visconti explained. “It’s always great to see Seward students gain the experience of auditioning and even better when they are selected.”