LWHS Music Students Gaining Attention With Their Joyful Noise

Name, age: Lake Washington High School music students, 15 to 18.

School and neighborhood: Lake Washington High; from neighborhoods in Kirkland and Redmond, with a few from outlying towns such as Kenmore.

Accomplishment: A dominating performance at the Northlake Regional & Solo Ensemble Festival at Bothell in February, with winners in seven categories qualifying for state competition (Ellensburg, April 29-30) and 11 selections as alternates.

Key to awesomeness: "They are absolutely giving, eager, extremely joyful kids," says Jim Peterson, LW director of vocals and strings. "Absolutely, part of the key is their enthusiasm, and I think it's the culture we engender here: the joy of music at the highest level, honesty in performance and having an open heart."

We spoke with five members of the 16-strong LW chamber orchestra, which won the large strings ensemble competition. They stressed two keys: their instructor Mr. Peterson and their togetherness as a group.

"Mr. Peterson pays a lot of attention to the musical detail," said Annaliese Herms of Kenmore, a senior violin player. "He's very picky; he has a real good ear for the little things."

Said Mackenzie Toher of Kirkland, a junior viola player who plans to major in music when she goes to college: "Another thing is, we've always thrived off of the energy in the group."

 "We all like each other," added Sam Watanabe, a senior viola player from Redmond.

"We're all bonded and feel connected," said Herms.

The kids expressed surprise at their large strings ensemble win, feeling their performance a bit tentative, but felt the program's overall success represented overdue recognition.

"We're pretty successful," said Watanabe. "I don't think a lot of people know that."

"We're overlooked," said Herms.

"It's not just the orchestra," said Alivia Burnham, a junior violinist from Redmond. "It's the choir, too."

The vocal performances were strong indeed. Kimani Iba won the tenor solo title, and Brittany Plumb and Hana Holmes won the twin titles for mezzo soprano.

The Northlake regionals include 10 high schools from the Lake Washington and Northshore school districts, as well as private schools in the area—this is one of the largest of the state's 23 regions for high school music competition.

"It's the largest festival in the state," said Peterson. "One of the categories we swept—1, 2, 3—was tenor. That's pretty amazing. It was a pretty dominating day. I was so proud of every performer. I was super-proud of our orchestra."

Here is the list of the winners from Lake Washington High.

• LW Percussion Ensemble, Winner, Percussion-Large
• Lake Washington Chamber Orchestra, Winner, Strings-Large
• Brittany Plumb, Winner (1), Mezzo Soprano
• Hana Holmes, Winner (2), Mezzo Soprano
• Kimani Iba, Winner, Tenor
• Lyrica Chamber Singers, Winner, Mixed Vocal-Large
• Counterpoint, Winner, Mixed Vocal-Small
• JayCee Gear, First Alternate (A), Soprano
• Natasha Lindquist, First Alternate, Alto
• Dallen Smith, First Alternate, Tenor
• Women of Lyrica, First Alternate, Women’s Vocal-Large
• The LW Four, First Alternate, Mixed Vocal-Small
• Men Of Lyrica, First Alternate, Men’s Vocal-Large
• JayCee Gear, Second Alternate (B), Mezzo Soprano
• Matt Mihara, Second Alternate, Tenor
• Aelish Wright, Second Alternate, Viola
• LW Trout Ensemble, Second Alternate, Strings-Small
• Two Men, Second Alternate, Men’s Vocal-Small