Student Standouts: Forsberg ’23, Janes ’23, Ray ’23, McCarthy ’24, Dickherber ’24, and Football
Faculty Feature: Bouchard
Congratulations to this week’s standouts below. Way to go #RamNation! And as always, if you have a story to share, please email weeklynews@micds.org.
Senior Named MVP of Volleyball Tournament
Senior Hannah Forsberg ’23 was named the Most Valuable Player of the Alton Invitational Tournament which took place last Friday and Saturday. “I am very thankful for the award and I owe it to my hard work, dedication to the game, and the coach’s input which has helped me grow as a player,” Forsberg said. This achievement was shared on RiverBender.com. Way to go, Hannah!
Janes Earns Assistant Principal, Second Violin Position in the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra’s 53rd season
Congratulations to Ava Janes ’23 on earning the position of Assistant Principal, Second Violin in the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra’s 53rd season. Founded by Leonard Slatkin in 1970, the YO represents over 40 schools between Missouri and Illinois where students between ages 12-22 are invited to audition in front of a panel of judges who are part of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. A mere 100 students amongst all instrumentalists are selected with 30 students chosen to represent the two violin sections. “The auditions are blind and nerve-wracking. There is a black curtain that rests between the judges and musicians where complete silence fills Powell Hall,” says Janes. The audition consists of playing two scales, followed by part of a rehearsed concerto and three orchestral excerpts. The audition material is emailed to musicians a few weeks prior to the audition. All of the major and melodic minor scales in different keys are to be memorized and played in three octaves. Musicians are unaware which scales they will audition with until audition day. The concerto is judged on execution and degree of difficulty. This year, Janes chose to audition with Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G Minor. The three orchestral excerpts change each year, but this year included Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Scherzo, Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, mvt. I, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, mvt. I. “If you have already been part of the YO, you do not have to go through a preliminary audition. You automatically advance to the final audition, so that is a huge relief, but that does not make the process any easier,” laughs Janes. Musicians are then invited to play an optional concertmaster excerpt to try to achieve a leadership position. The music chosen this year was Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, mvt. III (violin cadenza). “This is when the audition feels a lot scarier for me. I have to play my absolute best as I am up against the most amazing instrumentalists in Missouri and Illinois and must, through my playing, move the symphony member judges. Since we have a few weeks to practice the music, we have to take advantage of each moment as the audition becomes more about how to move the judges by exhibiting passion and feeling, which is more than being musically talented.” Janes currently studies under Andrea Jarrett, who is part of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. “I am honored to have the opportunity to work with Andrea. We work through each piece incrementally, focusing on intonation, articulation, sound quality, tone, and more. She continues to help me become the musician I desire to be.”
The YO is directed by the SLSO’s Assistant Conductor, Stephanie Childress, who began her tenure with SLSO in 2021 after debuting in the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and Orchestre de Paris. She worked with esteemed conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, Sian Edwards, Colin Metters, and most recently with Jukka-Pekka Saraste at the LEAD! Festival in Finland. The YO members look forward to working with Childress and receiving coaching and mentoring from the world-class SLSO musicians.
Janes and the YO will perform in three concerts for the 2022-2023 season at the historic Powell Hall:
Concert 1
Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 3 p.m.
Norman Huynh, Guest Conductor
Concert 2
Sunday, March 19, 2023 at 3 p.m.
Stephanie Childress, Conductor
Concert 3
Sunday, May 14, 2023 at 3 p.m.
Stephanie Childress, Conductor
For concert tickets, please visit: https://www.slso.org/en/edu/youth-orchestra/yo-concerts/.
Here is the link to Janes’ YO Bio: https://www.slso.org/en/edu/youth-orchestra/yo-musicians/ava-janes/.
See the other YO members here: https://www.slso.org/en/edu/youth-orchestra/yo-musicians/.
Ray is Runner Up in First 5K this Cross Country Season
Congratulations to Julia Ray ’23 for being the runner-up in the Forest Park Cross Country Festival in the 5k run! Here she is in a video interview with Mile Split Missouri reflecting on the race, sharing her goals for the season, and talking about overcoming an iron deficiency in the spring. Go, Julia!
Juniors Place in Forest Park Country Festival Race
Football Game Preview
The MICDS Football team is in this STL Today preview as it takes on the Priory Ravens on Saturday at 1 p.m. at MICDS. Check out how both teams have done so far this season. See why this is a “high school football game to watch” according to STL Today. Let’s go Rams!
Bouchard Talks Football on "Inside the Lines"
On Thursday, September 15, Dr. Fred Bouchard, Head MICDS Football Coach, chatted about MICDS football with Jim Powers on Scoops with Danny Mac’s Inside the Lines. Listen to his interview here (start: 15:43) as Coach Bouchard talks about the 2022 football team, the start of the season, and the goals for the team this year. Go Rams!
