District Music was held at Central Community College in Columbus, NE. The contest started on Thursday April 16. The District Music started with the Schuyler Central High School solo piano, and went throughout Saturday afternoon. Schuyler Central High School had 85 students in the band and choir that went to District Music. The SCHS band and choir both received second place. They had many soloists and ensembles who performed as well. Morgan Semerad, SCHS Choir teacher, said “Overall it was an exciting weekend! As a teacher, I saw a lot of growth in my students from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. We have truly started singing as one. Their work ethic was amazing and we were pumped to perform in front of judges and receive constructive criticism that we will take and move forward with next year.”

Ben Coatney, SCHS Band and men’s choir teacher said, “I was proud of the collective effort of our student musicians. Much like the choir, many of our instrumentalists were first time soloists and did an excellent job in their performances. The most important aspect of District Music Contest for our students was not only the ability to perform in a contest setting in a professional manner, but to expose themselves to new and alternative music ensembles that they otherwise would not have heard in Schuyler, such as a percussion ensemble or a barbershop quartet. Ms. Semerad and I could not be more proud of the work from the students and how they represented the community.”