Casady School students capture Oklahoma Music Olympics honors
Casady School junior Avery Weeks won the string bass division of the Buttram competition, presented by the Oklahoma City Orchestra League. The Buttram competition is the highest honor for music students in the state.
The annual Oklahoma City Orchestra League Music Competitions consist of six statewide competitions for young musicians and takes place every February. The winners of the competitions performed Feb. 7 at the Winners’ Concert at Oklahoma City University.
Weeks played two pieces for the Buttram competition. He performed the first two movements of the Bach cello suite at pitch, meaning he played at the cello pitch instead of bass, and the Koussevitsky concerto at a very fast tempo.
“It was inspiring to hear all of the young talent playing at the Oklahoma Music Olympics,” said Larry Moore, Casady’s director of orchestral music. “Their teachers are heroes to me, not only because of their own talents, but because of their love for teaching the students.”
Casady senior Timothy Lee received honorable mention for his piano work. Moore attended the competition with the Casady students.
Pearce Wade, a seventh-grader, competed in the same competition as the high school students. Last year, Pearce won the bass division of the Keith Award.
Fifth-grader Julia Janknecht received second place in the Gilliam Competition for piano.
Casady’s Middle and Upper Division orchestra students also had successful performances in the fall. The philharmonic orchestra performed at state contest and earned a superior rating.
Also during the fall, the Middle Division orchestra had 30 students perform with the Oklahoma Chamber Honor Orchestra held on the University of Oklahoma campus. Jana Heidebrecht and Moore represented Casady as the directors at the event.
Casady graduate Emma Sharp, who is majoring in voice at the University of Oklahoma, sang the selection “O Mio Babbino Caro” with the orchestra.