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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WorshipDirectory
These Salem-Keizer houses of worship invite you to visit.
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