The 2023 Frederick County Public Schools All-County High School Music Festival and All-County Middle School Music Festival are fast approaching.
“Please mark your calendars and encourage family, friends and neighbors to attend these festivals to show support for these extremely talented students and to support music education,” said Kimberly Hirschmann, FCPS curriculum specialist for secondary visual and performing arts.
The High School Festival takes place at 4 p.m. Saturday, January 28, in the Gov. Thomas Johnson High School (GTJHS) auditorium. Purchase tickets here. It will showcase an all-county student choir, band and orchestra, selected via a rigorous individual student audition process. All told, approximately 150 students will perform. The snow date is 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 31, at GTJHS.
Dr. Rachel Cornacchio, Professor of Music and Director of the Graduate Program in Conducting at Messiah University, PA, will lead the chorus. Elizabeth Reinhardt, clinician, music judge and orchestra director at Hammond High School (HCPS), will conduct the orchestra. Dr. William Stowman, Music Department Chair and Professor of Trumpet & Jazz Ensembles at Messiah University, will conduct the band.
The Middle School Festival will also showcase an all-county student choir, band and orchestra and is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday, February 4, at GTJHS and will feature approximately 185 students. Purchase tickets here. The snow date is 7 p.m. Monday, February 6.
Malcolm Washington, Chorus Director at Hammond High School (HCPS), will lead the chorus. Hayden Denesha, Associate Conductor of the Loudon Symphony Orchestra and Adjunct Professor of Orchestra & Music Education, Elizabethtown College, PA, will conduct the orchestra. Dr. Lori Schwartz Reichl, clinician, conductor, instructor, writer and speaker, will conduct the band.
Proceeds from admission support this and other countywide FCPS musical events. General seating tickets may be purchased in advance at GOFAN.co and are $6 for adults and $2 for students, plus additional fees. There will also be a CASH ONLY ticket purchase option at the door. Senior citizens 60+ (ID required) and children under school age are free. FCPS employees are admitted free when presenting their FCPS badge.