FA Students Join UM Buddy Defranco and MMEA Maine State Jazz Festivals
This January, Fryeburg Academy’s after-school jazz groups were able to resume limited rehearsals (following specific CDC guidelines for spacing, ventilation, masking, instrument covers, and rehearsal length), which allowed us to begin preparation for the spring virtual jazz festivals.
The FA Big Band and one of our jazz combos created videos in March and April to submit to the MMEA Maine State Jazz Festival and the Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival at the University of Montana. And, due to the CDC guidelines, we had to be quite creative in our big band set-up.
In the coming weeks, our jazz groups will receive critiques, ratings, and potential awards from Maine State Jazz Festival adjudicators. As in past years, our ensembles will receive a “Gold” “Silver” or “Bronze” rating if the adjudicators feel the ensembles are worthy of these distinctions.
As part of the Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival both the combo and big band received clinics via Zoom from the jazz festival clinicians. Adjudicators may also choose to recognize individuals or sections in our ensembles for awards.
While live festivals offer a much richer experience, the virtual platform allowed our students to connect with nationally-renowned educators throughout the country. The challenges of recording high quality videos of our ensembles also provided an excellent real-world music experience. We look forward to returning to live performance, and our virtual jazz festival project provided the bridge needed to keep jazz on the FA campus alive.
FA COMBO MEMBERS
Ethan St. Pierre ’24: Drums Riccardo DeMaria ’21: Piano
We are pleased to announce the following students who have earned academic recognition at Fryeburg Academy for the Fall of 2023-24:
HONORS Grade 12: (Honors)
Charlotte Adamus Vittoria Bernardini Natalie Berry Dom Bond Jordin Booker Owen Burford Tori Butters Jilyan Byrne Lorenzo Catana Vallemani Jonah Densmore Vitoria Do Espirito Santo Teixeira Elle Dooley Austin Dorner Deniz Eroglu Manu Fandos Martinez Aidan Flanigan Amber Gagnon Mia Grandchamp Gal Hanan
Emily Hoosier Noah Jacobs Emma Keaten David Kim Joey Kim Kardelen Lacinok Helena Landry Margherita Lassini Leo Lee Celine Lee Ana Maillett Moss Marques Caroline Masterman Asher McKenney Ryan Meade Natalia Millan Arenas Mina Milosevic Tommy Morini Tasia Nason
Rachel Pizzo Grace Porcaro Abby Pratt Ashe Rabideau Winter Raymond Dustin Rhoda Gideon Richard Leah Rokes Margherita Rossi Gunnar Saunders Louie Shin Lamar Smith Hunter Tripp Tanner Tripp Gabby Udoto Logan Walton Kara Willette Connor Williams Mary Wing Kevin Zhou
From October 31 through November 3, five members of the Academy's FFA Chapter (Future Farmers of America) and faculty member Jennifer Solter Jones attended the National FFA Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana.
On Thursday, November 16th, Fryeburg Academy celebrated the fall sports season with its annual fall sports awards assembly held in the Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center. The following student-athletes were recognized for their outstanding performance during the fall 2023-24 season:
Fryeburg Academy and the Board of Trustees announce the installation of Joseph R. Manning as the Academy’s 55th head of school. The Installation Ceremony was held on Friday, November 3, 2023, with members of the Fryeburg Academy community, the Board of Trustees, and former head of school Erin P. Mayo in attendance as a guest speaker. Manning steps into this new leadership role during the school’s 232nd year, following a long-tenured and successful career at the Academy spanning twenty years of service.
Fryeburg Academy seniors Tyler Bartick and Jiwon Choi have earned Letters of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSC) for their performance on the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).
Fryeburg Academy is an independent boarding and day school, serving grades 9-12 and postgraduate. We invite you to explore our site and learn how students from around the globe find their place in the world through our exceptional academic, art, and athletic programs.