On November 17, the YISS Music Department hosted the 2022 KAIAC Fall Large Ensemble Music Festival for middle and high school performing arts students.

The KAIAC Large Ensemble Music Festivals are an opportunity for large ensembles (bands, choirs, and orchestras) to perform for ratings. A panel of judges watches the groups and adjudicates with detailed comments. At the end of the performance, a clinic is given by one of the judges and a plaque or certificate will be awarded to the group for participating (Merit, Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum). There were five schools that participated in the festival (SFS, APIS, ICSU, Chadwick, and YISS), and eight total ensembles performed for ratings.

The YISS Tri-M Senior Chapter served for the event through various jobs such as group guides for visiting schools, stage crew for set-up and tear-down, room managers, assistants, and much more. Their help was greatly appreciated as their service to the event is what kept it running all day. 

At the festival, the YISS High School Jazz Band performed "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" by Richard Storrs Willis; arranged by Mike Collins-Dowden, and "Now's the Time" by Charlie Parker; arranged by Mark Taylor, in front of three experienced judges who critiqued. The repertoire received a "Gold" rating from the festival which is the second highest ranking a group can receive. We are proud of our YISS HS Jazz Band Students!

The event was very successful, and we are so thankful to have events in person again. It was inspiring to see all the students energized by having peers from other schools on our campus.