FA's Award-Winning Vocal Jazz Ensemble Places 3rd at the 50th Annual Berklee High School Jazz Festival

We are pleased to announce that Fryeburg Academy’s Vocal Jazz Ensemble won the third prize at the 50th Annual Berklee High School Jazz Festival on February 10.  The vocal jazz ensemble has won the Berklee Jazz Festival three times and placed in the top three numerous times in the past 26 years.

FA’s instrumental jazz ensembles have won twice and earned several top awards as well.
This year, the FA Big Band directed by Mike Sakash placed fifth in its division.  All three of the Fryeburg Academy ensembles that performed at the Berklee Jazz Festival logged many hours of after school and evening rehearsal in preparation for this event, which included 209 of the top high school jazz ensembles from around the country.

The Vocal Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Mimi Rohlfing,  performed “So What” by Miles Davis with lyrics by Eddie Jefferson, “Round Midnight” by Thelonius Monk, with lyrics by Bernie Hanighen, and “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing,” by Stevie Wonder and arranged by Darmon Meader.  Members of the group are eligible for 25% scholarships at Berklee summer programs as a result of this achievement.

The Berklee music faculty recognize one performer in each ensemble for the Judge’s Choice Award. Senior Ciara Neidlinger received this award for her performance in the Fryeburg Academy’s New Standard Jazz Combo.  Neidlinger who has performed with FA’s Vocal Jazz Ensemble all four years of her career at the Academy is no stranger to being recognized as an exceptional musician at the festival. Last year Neidlinger won one of three Outstanding Musicianship Awards in their vocal jazz division.  Junior Georgia Stafford received Judge’s Choice Awards for her performances in the Big Band and Vocal Jazz Ensembles.  

This year marked Fryeburg Academy’s first entrance into a new category of competition at the Berklee High School Jazz Festival. Ten finalists were selected from videos submitted by vocalists from across the United States.  As one of the finalists, junior Georgia Stafford participated in a masterclass with “The Voice” vocal coach Debra Byrd, with the final competition taking place in the afternoon. The Fryeburg Academy community was thrilled to learn that Stafford won first prize. As a result, Stafford was invited to perform for a crowd of six-thousand people at the evening awards ceremony in Veteran’s Memorial Hall of the Hynes Convention Center. She also received a full scholarship to attend the five-week summer program at the Berklee College of Music.

Fryeburg Academy’s award-winning jazz program will be featured at the Stone Mountain Arts Center on Thursday, April 5th.  Visit http://www.stonemountainartscenter.com/ArtsCenter/ for tickets and information.
 
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List of 5 news stories.

  • Fryeburg Academy Fall 2023-24 Honors/High Honors Roll Recipients Named

    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
  • Academy Students Earn Silver and Bronze at the National FFA Convention

    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. 
  • FA's Falls Sports Assembly Honors Student-Athletes

    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:
     
  • Joseph R. Manning Installed as the Academy's 55th Head of School

    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. 
  • FA Students Earn Letters of Commendation in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program

    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

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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.