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If you’re looking for great music from Medfield students, look no further. The award-winning Medfield High School Music Program produced two CDs this year – one for the Jazz Band, and another a compilation featuring Concert Band, String Orchestra and Concert Choir – and both are on sale at Park Street Books for $10 each with 100 percent of proceeds benefiting the nonprofit Medfield Music Association.
The CDs showcase the diverse repertoire and talents across all the high school ensembles representing more than 175 students in total, including more than 40 seniors who graduated in May, and several who earned soloist awards, music scholarships, and will continue with music studies at the college level this fall.
The nationally recognized MHS Jazz Band, directed by Doug Olsen, has been recording CDs for about 15 years, and the 2017 CD features a total of 10 songs, including several Latin-inspired pieces prepared for the April 2017 trip to Cuba and performed throughout the year, as well as pieces prepared as finalists for the prestigious Charles Mingus High School Competition & Festival in New York City in February 2017.
The compilation Band, Orchestra and Choir CD includes a total of 14 recordings, including pieces performed by the Chamber Strings and Jazz Choir honors ensembles; directors are Olsen, Brenna Evans and Ann Marie Tremblay respectively. The repertoires captured on the CD include classical strings, jazz and folk-inspired music, traditional brass band sounds, music that Chamber Strings performed on the spring Montreal trip, and Jazz Choir pieces that helped earn its Gold Medal Showcase award as a state finalist. This is the second year that a compilation CD has been produced featuring all of the large student ensembles.
“It’s incredibly fulfilling to see Medfield students grow and develop their musical abilities over the course of their time in the program, and the CD is proof of that. The recordings become wonderful keepsakes of individual and collective student talents that everyone can enjoy long after the school year is over,” said Olsen, who directs the district-wide Medfield Music Program in addition to Jazz Band.
Park Street Books, located at 504 Main Street, will sell the Medfield Music CDs until supplies last. For more information, contact the MMA via e-mail at mail@medfieldmusicassociation.com. For the first time in many years, the MMA will have a table at Medfield Day on Sept. 16, and CDs will be available there, as well.
