Busy End To Week In Store!

News just in tells me that the Bluffton High School Drama Club will present "Curtain Going Up" at the high school Thursday and friday from 7 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door for $4.

Hopefully, more information will be available over the next couple of days.

This makes for a busy end to the week, with all three Wells County high schools hosting big shows.

The Southern Wells High School Music Department hosts "Hello Dolly!", also on Thursday and Friday from 7 p.m., at their high school. Wednesday is the last day for the (lower priced) advance sale tickets! Depending on demand, there may still be door sales, but why take the risk?

The Norwell Music Department has its annual Pork Chop Dinner Extravaganza on Saturday from 4 p.m.

Last Few Days For "Hello Dolly!" Tickets!

If you haven't bought your tickets to Southern Wells production of "Hello Dolly!" yet, then you had better hurry up!

With the show due to take place on Thursday and Friday of THIS week, there isn't much time left. Orders can be placed via e-mail to scoolman@swell.k12.in.us anytime now through Wednesday, April 1.

Between now and Wednesday, orders can also be placed by phone or in person at the Southern Wells High School office. (Phone 765-728-5534).

“Hello, Dolly!” will run on Thursday and Friday, April 2 and 3, commencing at 7 p.m.

Pre-ordered tickets are $7.00. Tickets at the door, if any are left, will be $10.

Norwell High School Hosts Annual Pork Chop Dinner Extravaganza Saturday

Norwell High School will once again play host to a major musical feast this Saturday (April 4), as the Norwell Music Department hosts its Annual Pork Chop Dinner Extravaganza.

Dinner will begin to be served from 4 p.m., with carry-out available from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The entertainment will also begin at 4:30 p.m., with the Lancaster Elementary School Choir starting off the show.

Elementary, middle school and high school choirs and bands from within the Northern Wells School system will be involved in the show.

All performances (except drum line) will be in the Norwell High School Auditorium. The drum line will perform in the gymnasium. Dinner will be served in the High School Cafeteria.

A Pork Chop Dinner, consisting of a large pork chop, baked potato, roll, applesauce, dessert, and drink will cost $8.00. A Hot Dog Dinner, consisting of a hot dog, chips, applesauce, dessert, and drink will cost $3.00.

For those who don’t want dinner, but do want to attend the show, admission is $2.

All proceeds from this Pork Chop Dinner will benefit the Norwell High School Music Department.

The full schedule of performances is as follows:

4:30 p.m. - Lancaster Elementary
4:45 p.m. - Ossian Elementary
5:00 p.m. - Norwell Middle School 7th/8th Grade Chorus
5:15 p.m. - Knight Sounds - Middle School Show Choir
5:30 p.m. - Knight Stars - Girls Show Choir
6:00 p.m. - Knight Moves - Mixed Show Choir
6:45 p.m. - Norwell Middle School 6th Grade Band
7:00 p.m. - Norwell Middle School 7th Grade Band
7:15 p.m. - Norwell Middle School 8th Grade Band
7:30 p.m. - Norwell Middle School Jazz Band
7:45 p.m. - Norwell High School Symphonic Band
8:00 p.m. - Norwell High School Wind Ensemble
8:15 p.m. - Norwell High School Jazz Band
8:30 p.m. - Norwell High School Powerhouse Pep Band
9:00 p.m. - Norwell Winter Drum Line (in Gym)

Showtime Blog Link Now On News-Banner Web Site!

Finally, we have lift off!

After weeks of waiting, this blog can now be accessed directly from the News-Banner Web site so hopefully you can access all your local Wells County news from the one site.

Happy reading!

"Hello Dolly!" Tickets Now On Sale Over Spring Break!

Tickets to "Hello Dolly!" are on sale over Spring Break after all.

Orders can be placed via e-mail to scoolman@swell.k12.in.us anytime now thru next Wednesday, April 1.

Next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, orders can also be placed by phone or in person at the Southern Wells High School office. (Phone 765-728-5534).

“Hello, Dolly!” will run on Thursday and Friday, April 2 and 3, commencing at 7 p.m.

Pre-ordered tickets are $7.00. Tickets at the door, if any are left, will be $10.

More Photos From Norwell at the State Finals

Many thanks once again to Deb Grover for the pics.

Don't forget Norwell's drum line will be hosting a fundraiser at East of Chicago Pizza in Ossian on Monday, April 6 and also Tuesday, April 7. Drum line members will be serving from 5 to 8 p.m. on both evenings, and invite their supporters to join them one more time as they prepare for their season finale.

Good luck to drum line members in Dayton next month!

Norwell Drum Line Places Fourth at IPA State Finals

Norwell’s Winter Drum Line wrapped up its regular season with a fourth placing at the Indiana Percussion Association (IPA) State Finals at Ben Davis High School on Saturday.

Franklin Central claimed top spot with 87.263 points. Greenfield High School (85.425) placed second and Plainfield High School (84.825) third. Norwell scored 84.613 points.

Norwell still has one more competition ahead, as they contest the WGI World Finals in Dayton, Ohio on April 16 to 18.

Prior to that however, the drum line will be hosting a fundraiser at East of Chicago Pizza in Ossian on Monday, April 6 and also Tuesday, April 7. Drum line members will be serving from 5 to 8 p.m. on both evenings, and invite their supporters to join them one more time as they prepare for their season finale.

Thanks to Deb Grover for the photo. More pics from Deb at Ben Davis will follow in a later post.

Tickets Now On Sale to Southern Wells' "Hello Dolly!"

Tickets are now on sale for Southern Wells High School’s production of the musical “Hello, Dolly!”, which will run on Thursday and Friday, April 2 and 3 at 7 p.m.

The show is directed by Sue Coolman and will feature Chelsea Smith in the role of Dolly, with the leading support roles played by Justin Perry, Kevin Feemster, Damon Smith, Emily Hartley, Johanne Lichtsinn, Kyle Thompson, Jenny Lloyd and Mandy Stoffer.

Pre-ordered tickets are $7.00 and can be purchased from the high school office (Phone: 765-728-5534) or by e-mailing the director between now and April 1 at scoolman@swell.k12.in.us. Tickets will not be available during spring break (March 23-27). Tickets at the door, if any, are available will be $10.

The full cast is as follows:

Dolly - Chelsea Smith
Horace Vandergelder - Justin Perry
Cornelius Hackl - Kevin Feemster
Barnaby Tucker - Damon Smith
Irene Molloy - Emily Hartley
Minnie Fay - Johanne Lichtsinn
Ambrose Kemper - Kyle Thompson
Ermengarde Vandergelder - Jenny Lloyd
Ernestine Money - Mandy Stoffer
Rudolph Reisenweber - Kyle Penrod
Mrs. Rose - Jade Sisler
Stanley/Paperhanger - David Haigh
Fritz - Bryce Longenberger
Harry - Jordan Alstoft
Louie - Zach Bergman
Danny - Sam Wagner
Manny - Matt Taylor
Hank - Austin Hartman
The Head Cook - Brandon Longenberger
The Judge - Jim Schwarzkopf
The Policeman - Tyler Hogston
The Court Clerk - Linly Lloyd

Chorus members include:
Kaitlin Bonewit, Chelsea Clifton, Bekah Coolman, Chelsea Mossburg, Emily Pinkerton, Katie Pinkerton, Katie Scott, Hali Nuss, Elizabeth Davis, Lillian Hartley, Sadie Herr, Talishia Holloway, Kendra Mounsey and Leia Zoll.

Extra waiters include:
Colton Kellam, Ryan Steiner and Brandon Wilson.

Orchestra members include:
Becky Pulling, piano;
Rachel Mossburg and Mary Smith, violin;
Al White, trumpet;
Ralph Tuttle, trombone;
Gary Bouse and Joe Biddle, percussion.

Set design by Nancy Wagner;
Stage Manager - Katie Coolman;
Sound - Mike Haigh;
Lights - Aly Zoda and Bob Coolman.

The show is directed by Sue Coolman.

Winter Guard Season Ends - Some Final Pics!

Norwell's Jennifer Harrison wasn't able to compete at Center Grove after breaking her foot at the Independents' exhibition performance at Norwell on Feb. 28, but she was still very much a part of the show, turning out with the team before taking a sideline seat for the performance.

For one final photo, Independent's Instructor Brittany Satterthwaite (front right) and Mike Satterthwaite (Band Director at Adams Central Schools - front left) join the squad. One member of the crew was missing, with Bellmont's Liz Goebel absent.

Once again, thanks to Mrs. Tomi Harrison for the photos.

The Adams Central Independents At The Awards Ceremony at Center Grove

Once again, many thanks to Mrs. Tomi Harrison.

Photos from Adams Central Independents' Performance at Center Grove.

Many thanks to Mrs. Tomi Harrison for these photos from the season's final performance by the Adams Central Independents, at Center Grove on Saturday. (More pics to follow.)

Adams Central Independents Earn Gold Rating at State Champs.

The Adams Central Independents Winter Guard wrapped up its competition season at Center Grove Saturday with a gold rating at the state championships.

A total of 16 gold and six silver ratings were awarded in the Independents' AAA Class. Other area schools earning gold were Jay County, Northrup, Northside and Woodlan. In Class B, Heritage earned a silver rating, and in Class AA (held at Franklin Central), Bishop Dwenger, Carroll, East Noble and Heritage all earned gold, while Wabash and Columbia City earned silver.

Thanks to Mrs. Tomi Harrison for this photo, and others from Center Grove which will follow in subsequent posts.

Norwell Show Choirs Shine Against Tough Competition at Homestead

Norwell’s show choirs were again to the fore Saturday at Homestead, although Bluffton’s young Musical Entourage found the competition just a little too tough, as the show choir competition season came to an end for another year.

Norwell’s Knight Moves picked up another Grand Champion title in the Small Mixed Division, but the Knight Stars were edged into first runner-up by just .10 of a point by Chesterton’s Drifters, for their second defeat of the season.

Both Norwell’s High School choirs finished with impressive records however, with the Knight Moves at 26-2 and the Knight Stars at 32-2, providing seniors Katie Dougal, Kris Kutzli, Alyssa Meyer, Aerial Myers, Mike Russell, and Carson Tubbs final year they can well be proud of.

Norwell’s Knight Sounds also competed in a Middle School competition at Homestead, their second event of the season. The Knight Sounds placed second runner-up behind Northwood and Memorial Park.

Thanks again to Norwell Music Boosters for the photo.

Story in today's (Monday, March 16) News-Banner.

The King's Place Hosts Second Jamfest

The King's Place in downtown Bluffton held its second Jamfest on Saturday evening, with Christian band One Way in the role of host band.

Making up One Way were Tim Higginbottom, Sam Steffen, Mark McKinley and Todd Fiechter. Steffen and McKinley also gave solo performances. Tom Cushman, Casey Fritz and For Better Or Worse also performed their music, while Doug Sundling, accompanied by Higginbottom on guitar, read poetry, and Vivien Drennan related the story of St. Patrick's Day (coming up this Tuesday begorra!)

The photos, from top, show Tom Cushman, Sam Steffen and One Way.

The next Jamfest will be April 18, with local musicians and other performers willing to share their talents welcome.

The King's Place will also host a Parlor City Cabaret April 25.

Norwell Drum Line Qualifies for IPA State Finals

Saturday (March 14) saw Norwell’s Winter Drum Line return to Indiana Percussion Association (IPA) competition for IPA State Preliminaries at Avon High School.

Norwell placed third at the qualifying tournament, with a score of 83.9. Franklin Central was the top qualifier, with a score of 85.1, while Greenfield Central placed second with 84.475.

Norwell travels to Ben Davis High School on March 21st for State Finals.

Thanks to Deb Grover for the photos and information.

Weekend Schedule (March 14-15)

Its a full-on weekend this weekend!

The Adams Central Independents travel to Center Grove for their State Finals. Their class (AAA) begins at 4:30 p.m. and they are the 19th of 22 groups to perform.

Bluffton and Norwell Show Choirs compete at Homestead High School in their final competition of the season. Last year, Norwell and Bluffton finished first and second respectively in the Small Mixed Division,

Norwell's Winter Drum Line travels to Avon, for Indiana Percussion Association State Preliminary Competition.

And in addition to the high school competition, “The King’s Place” in Bluffton will also be hosting another “Jamfest” Saturday evening from 6:30 p.m., providing local musicians with another chance to strut their stuff on a local stage. “One Way” will be the host band for the evening, but other local musicians will also be featured.

Today's (Friday, March 13) features Bluffton's Musical Entourage, with comments by their new director, Elyse Breeding.

Good luck to all Wells County performers for the weekend!

Results from the weekends events will be in Monday’s News-Banner, and also on this blog site.

Southern Wells To Present "Hello Dolly!"

More details will follow closer to the time, but Southern Wells High School will present the musical “Hello, Dolly!” on Thursday and Friday, April 2 and 3 at 7 p.m.

The show is directed by Sue Coolman and will feature Chelsea Smith in the role of Dolly, with leading support roles played by Justin Perry, Kyle Thompson, Jenny Lloyd, Kevin Feemster, Damon Smith, Emily Hartley and Johanne Lichtsinn among others.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning on March 18. Pre-ordered tickets are $7.00. Tickets bought at the door will cost $10, but will depend on availability, so you are definitely better off pre-ordering. Tickets will not be available during spring break (March 23-27.)

Details regarding where to buy tickets will follow closer to March 18. But tell your friends the show is on, and prepare to get in early to get the best seats!

Norwell Drum Line Qualifies for WGI World Champs

The Norwell Winter Drum Line had a full weekend of qualification competition, at Franklin Central, at the WGI Indianapolis Regionals.

Competing Saturday, Norwell earned a spot in Sunday’s finals event. On Sunday, Norwell placed fifth, but only .425 behind the third placed ensemble. This result was good enough to qualify Norwell for the WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio on April 16-19.

Norwell will travel to Avon High School this weekend for IPA State Preliminaries, then will travel to Ben Davis High School on March 21 for IPA State Finals.

This week, on Thursday, March 12, Norwell will open the final half hour of practice for the public to come and watch from about 8:30 p.m. The drum line will be in full dress and will perform their entire show “The Point of No Return”.

Knight Moves and Knight Stars Win Gold at Shelbyville

It was another golden weekend for Norwell's show choirs, with both the Knight Moves and Knight Stars winning their respective divisions (Small Mixed and Women's) at Shelbyville, Saturday, March 7.

The evening competition took a bit of a twist, and saw both choirs called back to compete against each other as the top six choirs from all competition participated in the evening performances. The result of that, and the full list of caption awards will be in today's News-Banner (Monday, March 9.)

In solo competition, Alyssa Meyer was second runner-up with "The Light In The Piazza."

Norwell's three show choirs finish their competition season this Saturday in Homestead. Heading into that event, the Knight Stars are 26-1 for the season, while the Knight Moves are 22-2. The middle school choir, the Knight Sounds, will also compete at Homestead.

Norwell's Jazz Band Earns Gold Rating

The Norwell Jazz Band performed on Friday (March 6) at Elmhurst High School as part of the ISSMA Jazz festival and earned a gold rating for their efforts.

Thanks to Deb Grover for the photo.

A Few More Photos From Norwell's Indoor Percussion Invitational (Part 2)

.....and a few more marching ensemble sets!

Maconaquah High School's "Modern Times" program used a floor set that depicted a large circuit board, including the power switch behind the supporting band.

Pendleton Heights High School's "The Heist" was my personal favorite from the PSA class, and their program centered around a heist from a museum.

Bishop Dwenger High School's floor was designed to resemble the view from above of a grand piano, and their program was appropriately titled "Grand". Their supporting band also featured a student playing a grand piano.

Norwell High School's "Point of No Return" set finishes off our posts. Note the size of the crowd - there weren't many seats left unoccupied on either side of the gym at "The Castle" and it was great to see Wells County get out to support its talented young musicians.

A Few More Photos From Norwell's Indoor Percussion Invitational (Part 1)

After posting yesterday about the difference between concert and marching percussion groups, I thought I'd post a few photos showing some of the creative sets that various marching ensembles came up with.

In this post we have:

Orleans High School's black background might not have been the most colorful, but their program titled "The House" had a theme based around "death". Off to the right, they even had a cemetery set up on stage.

Hagerstown High School chose "Through The Years" as their theme. What struck me about this performance was the number of costume changes their accompanying dancers went through during their nine-minute performance - I counted five but maybe missed one or two!

Eastern High School chose a blue and grey background to support their "Reaction" program.

Zionsville High School's theme was "Grow", and the perimeter of their set featured art of trees.

Norwell Performers Carry County Hopes This Weekend

With the teams from Bluffton, Southern Wells and Adams Central all taking a week off from competition this weekend, Norwell will be the sole carrier of the county colors this weekend, with the Knight Moves and Knight Stars show choirs on the road at Shelbyville and the winter drum line returning to Franklin Central for the second time in three weeks.

The drum line followed up its runner-up placing in an Indiana Percussion Association contest at Franklin Central on Feb. 14 with a win at home last weekend, and will be looking to continue their winning form when they return to Franklin Central for Winter Guard International (WGI) qualifiers, and hopefully also on Sunday.

WGI competition is new territory for the drum line, and will pit Norwell up against teams from other states, all of which are trying to qualify for the WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio in April.

The drum line usually contests Indiana Percussion Association (IPA) events.

The "Weekend Showtime" preview in today's News-Banner (Friday, March 6) features the show choir program at Norwell, with words of wisdom from Show Choir Director Carla Doles.

The Different Classes in Winter Drum Line

For the benefit of readers who are as "new" to drum line as I am, a brief explanation of the classes at last Saturday's Norwell Indoor Percussion Invitational might be in order.

Basically, there are two tyes of drum line - concert and marching.

Concert competition at Norwell was contested in classes PSCA, PSCO and PSCW, while marching was contested in PIA, PSA, PSO and PSW.

Note that the concert classes have an extra "c" in their class, indicating "Concert".

The "I" in PIA represents an independent group, as opposed to a group from one particular school, while the "S" in the other classes represents "scholastic". Although grouped separately, "I" groups compete according to the same criteria as their respective "S" counterparts. Norwell's competition only featured one independent class, but there could conceivably have been PIO, PIW or even PICA, PICO or PIOW groups present.

Concert drum lines concentrate on just the instrumental portion of the performance, while marching incorporates various types of movement (marching, dance etc), and marching bands also seem to have scenic backdrops (and colorful costumes). The two photos with this post show the difference with Fishers High School (orange crimson and black costumes) representing the marching ensembles at Norwell, while Goshen (Black and white "tuxedos") represent the concert ensembles.

There is very little movement involved in concert competition, apart from individuals moving between their different instruments. Marching performances can be all over the place, and as Norwell themselves displayed, at considerable speed!

Within these two "sub-groups", the "A", "O" and "W" classes indicate level of competitive ability/experience.

The "A" class (PSA, PSCA, PIA or PICA) represents, according to the official classification definition: "younger, less developed participants." The "O" class (PSO, PSCO, PIO or PICO) represents a more intermediate level ensemble, while the "W" (World - PIW, PICW, PSW or PSCW) class ensembles are expected to display a high degree of advanced development.

I hope this provides a simple explanation (and that I have got everything right!)

More Photos From Adams Central Independents' Exhibition Performance at Norwell on Saturday (Part 2)

Best of luck to the Independents for their State Championships on March 14!

More Photos From Adams Central Independents' Exhibition Performance at Norwell on Saturday (Part 1)

Southern Wells Vocalists Excel At State ISSMA Contest

Eight Southern Wells vocalists struck a high note in Indianapolis over the weekend at State ISSMA competition.

Bekah Coolman, Emily Hartley, Lillian Hartley, Johanne Lichtsinn, Jenny Lloyd, Katie Scott, Chelsea Smith, and Mandy Stoffer all earned gold ratings for their performances Saturday.

Bekah, Chelsea, Johanne and Lillian (listed in the order they appear in the photo) competed as a barbershop quartet, while Katie, Johanne, Chelsea, Jenny, Mandy and Emily (also listed in photo order) competed as an a cappella ensemble.

Bekah and Mandy also took part in solo competition.

The Southern Wells Music Department’s next big event is its production of “Hello Dolly” on March 13 and 14.

Thanks to Sue Coolman for the photos.

The Home Team Performs at Norwell's Indoor Percussion Invitational

More photos from the event will follow over the next few days, so keep tuning in!