What's Happening in Somerville, NJ…

Both the jazz and the symphonic bands at Somerville Middle School (SMS) enjoyed a sweeping victory at Kutztown University’s annual festival, ‘Music in the Parks’.

Steven Loreti, band director for Somerville Middle School, but the win down to hard work and said that the director of the event was impressed by the school’s musical commitment.

The jazz and symphonic groups from SMS won first place, including “superior” ratings. They also won Judges’ Choice for best act overall. This made it 22 wins in a row for the jazz band and, for the symphonic band, this is the 16th year out of 22 years of competition in which it has left with top honors.

The jazz band is made up of 19 members, and the performance included ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ and ‘If I Could Fly’. The symphonic band has 70 members, and played ‘Fiesta de los Bravos’ and ‘Song of Hope’.

Music in the Parks was founded in 1981, and organizes music festivals that include orchestras, choirs, bands, and other school music groups. Other locations also host festivals, including Hershey Park in Pennsylvania and Six Flags in Jackson. Events like these are often advertised with flyer printing.

Ten schools from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, including SMS, performed at Kutztown. After receiving their scores the 70 members of the SMS bands enjoyed the rest of the day at Allentown’s Dorney Park.