What would propel more than 200 musicians from Northwood High School to undergo
a competitive audition process consisting of sightreading, music theory, and a battery
of questions? If you ask the 62 choral and 38 instrumental musicians chosen, they
would tell you that it’s a coveted opportunity to participate in the Heritage Festival, a
National Music Festival event that takes place in 25 difference cities across the U.S. The
Northwood performers will be heading to San Francisco April 14th –17th, along with
competitors from all over California, as well as Nevada, Kansas and Washington.
Each performing group is judged on a National Standard with 100 points possible,
and will classified based on their score with a rating of Gold, Silver or Bronze. If a
group receives a Gold, a score of 90-100 points, they are ranked in the top 10% of
performing groups in the entire country. This status leads to an invitation to participate
in elite festivals, the Festival of Gold Series and the Carnegie Hall Series. Northwood
Instrumental Music has previously attained this level and has participated in a Festival of
Gold.
The groups can choose to compete in their classification for 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-place
rankings. Choral groups receiving a score of 96 or higher and bands whose score exceeds
92 will receive an Adjudicator Award. The highest scoring band and the highest scoring
choir will receive the Outstanding Choral Sweepstakes and the Outstanding Band
Sweepstakes. Heritage Festival adjudicators are among the very best music educators in
the country, ensuring that the students have a superior educational experience.
Northwood’s Choral and Instrumental Music Departments, headed by Directors Zach
Halop and Ben Case, respectively, are well-reputed. In 2004, Northwood was granted
a designation as a Grammy Gold Award School, recognizing NHS as one of the top
seven secondary music programs in the country. In 2006 and again in 2007, NHS was
recognized by the Grammy Foundation with the award of the Grammy Signature School
Award, an unprecedented honor for any Irvine school.
a competitive audition process consisting of sightreading, music theory, and a battery
of questions? If you ask the 62 choral and 38 instrumental musicians chosen, they
would tell you that it’s a coveted opportunity to participate in the Heritage Festival, a
National Music Festival event that takes place in 25 difference cities across the U.S. The
Northwood performers will be heading to San Francisco April 14th –17th, along with
competitors from all over California, as well as Nevada, Kansas and Washington.
Each performing group is judged on a National Standard with 100 points possible,
and will classified based on their score with a rating of Gold, Silver or Bronze. If a
group receives a Gold, a score of 90-100 points, they are ranked in the top 10% of
performing groups in the entire country. This status leads to an invitation to participate
in elite festivals, the Festival of Gold Series and the Carnegie Hall Series. Northwood
Instrumental Music has previously attained this level and has participated in a Festival of
Gold.
The groups can choose to compete in their classification for 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-place
rankings. Choral groups receiving a score of 96 or higher and bands whose score exceeds
92 will receive an Adjudicator Award. The highest scoring band and the highest scoring
choir will receive the Outstanding Choral Sweepstakes and the Outstanding Band
Sweepstakes. Heritage Festival adjudicators are among the very best music educators in
the country, ensuring that the students have a superior educational experience.
Northwood’s Choral and Instrumental Music Departments, headed by Directors Zach
Halop and Ben Case, respectively, are well-reputed. In 2004, Northwood was granted
a designation as a Grammy Gold Award School, recognizing NHS as one of the top
seven secondary music programs in the country. In 2006 and again in 2007, NHS was
recognized by the Grammy Foundation with the award of the Grammy Signature School
Award, an unprecedented honor for any Irvine school.
- Diane Bucka, Northwood Parent
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