Kanapaha Middle School Ensemble Wins Top Honors in National Music Festival

Gainesville – The Kanapaha Middle School Wind Ensemble’s first performance outside of Florida was an extremely successful one, with the 39 young musicians winning first place for middle school concert bands in the recent Smoky Mountain Music Festival in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

“The icing on the cake was their 95.67 score out of 100, which was not only first place in their division, but the highest score given to all the groups that performed at the event, including all middle and high school ensembles,” said Michael Loffredo, who directed the ensemble with Summer Atteberry.

The Smoky Mountain Music Festival, established nearly 40 years ago, draws top student ensembles from throughout the U.S. and Canada. The groups are given the opportunity to demonstrate their talents before highly-respected and internationally-recognized judges.

The Kanapaha ensemble performed three pieces at the event, which was the first out-of-state appearance in the history of the school’s band program.

Two members of the ensemble were also singled out for special honors. Flutist MaryAnne Leko and trumpet player Laila McCaslin, both 8^th-graders, performed solos at the competition and were recognized for outstanding achievement and performance.

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