SNOW HILL – Music echoed through the halls and artwork lined the walls of Snow Hill High School last Tuesday as hundreds of students from schools across the county came together to showcase their artistic talents.
This year, Worcester County Public Schools’ Fine Arts Festival featured an array of musical and artistic compositions, including stop motion animation, instrumental performances from Snow Hill Middle School’s Jazz Birds, choral renditions of Adele’s “When We Were Young” and more.
Tamara Mills, coordinator of fine arts instruction, said the festival is a chance for parents and community members to witness the creativity of Worcester County’s student, a long-honored tradition that has occurred each year for more than two decades.
“It’s a celebration of the arts and our talented musicians and artists,” she said.
The Fine Arts Festival, hosted at the newly renovated Snow Hill High School (SHHS), featured bands, choruses and artists from elementary, middle and high schools from the north to the south end of the county.
“There were about 180 students who participated in the elementary and middle school choir ensembles,” she said. “There were about 36 students in the middle schools’ Jazz Birds and orchestra ensembles. There were 130 high school students in the All- County band and choir.”
Mills explained that the festival usually rotates among the county’s three area high schools, but because of construction at SHHS, the event has alternated between Stephen Decatur and Pocomoke high schools until this year.
“That was the first time they hosted it in years,” she said.
In a celebration of sorts, art and music overtook the facility’s main hall, auditorium and auxiliary gym Tuesday evening.
Although most of the 360 art projects on display Tuesday were from the school year’s classroom projects, Mills said musical arrangements from the All-County Band and Chorus were prepared solely for the festival.
All-County Band member Emily Mast said students from the three high schools have been preparing arrangements both in two day-long rehearsals and individual practice at home.
The reward, she explained, was hearing the end product at the festival.
“It’s almost like Worcester County is a family,” she said, “and when you bring us all together in a band we make awesome music together.”
Mast praised the school system for the Fine Arts Festival and the close connection it created among students.
“Worcester County really celebrates the arts and emphasizes the arts,” she said. “We are really small, but we are also really close. It brings everyone together and shows how much effort we put into the year.”
Mills said not only does the festival showcase the students’ talents, but also their hard work.
“The arts are so important for our kids,” she said. “Parents are excited to see the end product … but it also shows a process. It’s more about the child developing artistic behaviors. The arts are so important to our kids’ lives.”
Superintendent Lou Taylor said he was impressed with the night’s performances and displays.
“I think this is wonderful,” he said. “I’m proud of the work they do in the arts. Tonight was a fabulous experience to see their artwork and the musical talent.”
Mast said she hoped parents and community members left with a sense of appreciation for the arts and its value to the students.
“Students from every single school in the county are up on the stage,” she said. “It’s got to be worth something, right?”
