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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2016)
PAGE A6, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 20, 2016 KeizerCommunity KEIZERTIMES.COM Celtic pair takes home ‘distinguished’ medals Loud and clear KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald The McNary High School female vocal group, Cm7b9#11, recently won the state title in female vocal performance. FRONT ROW: Veronica Reyes, Ella Garro, Ariana Pippert, Emma Blanco and Mary Dolenc. BACK ROW: Jaden Brunhaver, Sydnie Gould, Grace Condello, Camryn Ronnow, Madi Zuro and Sofi a Zielinski. Celt vocalists win state title By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes The McNary High School girls a capella group, Cm7b9#11, never intended to win a state title in female vocal performance. In fact, the 11 Celtics that comprise the group only went to compete at the district level to get some feedback from the judges. They ended up win- ning there, and then traveling to the state competition where they proved themselves the best Oregon has to offer earlier this month. “If we had the mindset to go and win, we might not have won, but we were just there to enjoy the music,” said junior Ella Garro. Truth be told, Cm7b9#11(it’s a jazz chord) only became a fully-formed group in January. Competing wasn’t even in the picture at that point. “We haven’t focused on being really showy this year, we focused on making music together,” said senior Sydnie Gould. “Now, we’re getting in- troduced as the top group in the state and it’s a shock. We’re really honored, but we still can’t believe it.” The group had its begin- nings in February 2015, when some of the current members were delivering Val-O-Grams (mini-concerts) to schoolmates. “Then Mr. (Jim) Taylor chal- lenged us to do more things and perform for the middle schools,” said Grace Condello. Some of the students who saw them perform at Whiteaker are now members of the group. “Seeing the Val-O-Gram groups when they visited our school was really fun to watch. After getting to McNary, and seeing how much fun the girls were having, it made me want to be part of it,” said freshman Veronica Reyes. Freshman Sofi a Zielinski echoed the sentiment. “It was never something I thought I would do, but I thought they were so cool,” said Zielinski said. Garro and co-leader Emma Blanco held tryouts for the group last fall, after deciding on what exactly they wanted the group to do. “We started out as a pop group doing things you might hear on the radio, and then we fi gured out everyone was also taking the choral classics class. That’s when we decided we weren’t just a pop group and we started working on the mu- sic that we could perform at the district competition,” Blanco said. While Blanco and Garro had specifi c vocal qualities they were looking for, Garro said other parts of the auditions were the deciding factor as to who made the cut. “We put a lot more into getting to know them as peo- ple rather than their voice. We wanted to know what their work ethic was like, what they hoped to get out of being part of the group. That was more helpful than their actual voices,” Garro said. One of the group’s fi rst big gigs came at the Rose City Sing-Off in April where they brought home the Best Ensem- ble Sound award. Having set the bar incred- ibly high already, Cm7b9#11 isn’t planning on resting on its laurels. The young ladies are looking for ways to continue performing throughout the summer, whether it’s for private parties or larger events. Senior Ariana Pippert said the whole experience is mak- ing for a bittersweet end to her time as a Celtic. “It’s a reminder of how blessed we are here at Mc- Nary to have all this talent. In another place, a similar group might fi ght tooth-and-nail to get where we are now,” she said. “I know I’m going on to other things, but I’m really proud of this group. In the years to come, they are going to do some crazy things.” The other members of the group are Madi Zuro, Mary Dolenc, Jaden Brunhaver and Camryn Ronnow. By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes A last-minute donation to the Distinguished Young Women of Keizer (DYWK) made for an unexpected sur- prise during the scholarship program Saturday, May 14. Instead of one winner, there were two $1,500 schol- arships to be given out. The recipients were Sydney Mar- tindale and Elizabeth Russell, who will go on to represent Keizer in the statewide pro- gram in August. Martindale said she was much more nervous than she expected as the names were announced. “It was scary, but it was a rush of relief when they called my name. I did the best I could possibly do tonight and it all paid off,” she said. Russell had lowered her own expectations before the winners were announced. “I thought I did awful and I’d messed up on everything, but then they called my name and I was so surprised,” Rus- sell said. In addition to the grand prizes, Martindale won the fi tness portion of the pro- gram, which came with a $300 scholarship. Rus- sell won the Self-expression Award, which also came with a $300 scholarship. Despite dancing for the talent portion of the compe- tition, Martindale said the fi t- ness routine was the hardest part of the program. “It’s probably the hard- est thing I’ve done in a long time. It’s so much cardio and jogging in place, and I am not KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald DWYK contestant Alayna Sykoski performs a monologue from The Glass Menagerie during the talent portion of the scholar- ship program. a runner,” she said. Russell, who performed a piano solo for her talent, said that was the most stressful. Russell’s mother competed in the Junior Miss program (the precursor to DYWK) in high school and said that was her inspiration for giving it a shot. “Even as a kid, I would look at her pictures in her scrapbooks and she looked like such a princess. I wanted to be like her, and being able to be part of this has been amazing,” she said. For both distinguished young women, one of the real prizes was simply getting to know schoolmates on a deeper level. “I’ve known these girls for so long, but I hadn’t gotten to know them. I defi nitely didn’t realize how much I would love them,” Russell said. Martindale added, “They have a special place in my heart and I will always re- member them. We’ve be- come so close, and I will cherish our memories to- gether forever.” Madi Zuro was named fi rst alternate in the competi- tion and won the talent por- tion for a combined total of $800 in scholarships. Rebec- ca Amerino won the $300 Scholarship Award. Cambri- an Partridge won the $300 Spirit Award. 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Call to list your church in our Worship Directory: (503) 390-1051 John Knox Presbyterian Church JOIN US FOR SUNDAY WORSHIP 452 Cummings Lane North • 393-0404 8:30 am • 10 am • 11:30 am • 6 pm PEOPLESCHURCH 4500 LANCASTER DR NE | SALEM 503.304.4000 • www.peopleschurch.com Celebration Services Saturday Evening 1755 Lockhaven Dr. NE Keizer 503-390-3900 www.dayspringfellowship.com Rev. Dr. John Neal, Pastor Worship - 10:30 a.m. Education Hour - 9:15 a.m. Nursery Care Available www.keizerjkpres.org Jason Lee UMC 820 Jeff erson St. NE Salem OR 97301 9:00 am Dr. Jon F. Langenwalter, Pastor The church with the purple doors 10:45 am Worship at 9:30 am • Child Care Available 6:00 pm Children’s Programs, Student and Adult Ministries Father Gary L. Zerr, Pastor Saturday Vigil Liturgy: 5:30 p.m. Sundays: 8:15 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. La Misa en Español: 12:30 p.m. Sunday Morning and 503-364-2844 Faith Lutheran Church 4505 River Rd N • 393-4507 Sunday Schedule: 9:00 a.m. Children’s Church 9:15 a.m. Adult Bible Study 9:30 a.m. Children’s Activities Pastor Virginia Eggert 10:30 a.m. Worship with Communion
