Alexandria High School - Alexian Yearbook (Alexandria, MN)

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J mf AW' We .Mm ff 97324 1936 Lv!-I EXIQN 1936 AW This year has been a most progressive and inspiring one for the band section of the Alexandria High School Music Department. Un- der the capable direction of H. W. Arentsen, the concert and military bands have participated in numerous school and outside events during 193 5 - I 93 6. Several special trips were made by the band Wholly and in part in the course of the year's activities. Included in these trips were the participation in the West Central Band Tournament at Sauk Centre in july, 193 S, and a special concert at Central Junior High in St. Cloud on March 8. Senior members of the bands include Rodney Backlin, Robert Elness, Lucille Flesch, Frances Griffith, Eileen Hubbell, Burl Krafthefer, Elaine McArdell, Helen Moose, and Lucille Nichols. CHAMBER MUSIC Six small ensembles, three vocal and three instrumental, com- prise the chamber group of the music department. The vocal section is made up of the girls' sextet, boys' sextet, and mixed octet with the string quartet, brass sextet, and woodwind sextet included in the instrumental division. Doris Christopherson, Juliette Hareid, Carol Knutson, Doris Larson, Frances Renner, and Betty Sather composed the girls' sextet. The boys' quartet was made up of Robert Elness, Leighton Knutson, XVilbur Schackel and Ralph Thornton. In the mixed octet were Dona Du Beau, Robert Elness, Marian Knauf, Leighton Knutson, Doris Lar- son, Frances Renner, Wilbur Schackel, and Ralph Thornton. Present members of the string quartet are June Fleming, Ar- lene johnson, Bernadine McArdell, and Dennis Nelson. Rodney Back- lin, Donald Brown, Sidney Carlson, Russell Krafthefer, Elaine McArdell, and Robert Patton constitute the brass sextet. Robert Elness, Burl Krafthefer, Doris Larson, Rachael Nelson, Dawn Ripley, and Delores Wilkes comprise the woodwind sextet. Twenty-three

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1936 THE ALEXIAN 1936 Music ORCHESTRA With an increase in member- . ship of 15 students, the high school or- chestra, like the band, has had one of its most successful seasons. Directed by Har- old Arentsen, it has been very prominent in musical activities during the year. This year the orchestra accom- panied the operetta Naughty Marieffa and the annual production of Handel's Messiah and furnished incidental music for both junior and senior class plays. In addition to these regular performances, the orchestra gave two special concerts during the year. The first of these was a public affair given in December and the other a closed performance for the Eu- terpean Club in March. Because of the heightened in- terest of the students in music this year, the membership in this organization rose to 6 S. Seniors who are members of the orchestra are Rodney Backlin, Donald Brown, Robert Elness, Eileen Hubbell, Alma Keipe, Burl Kraf- thefer, Elaine McArdell, Wilma Meyers, and LaVerne Schmidt. Harold W. Arentsen MUSIC POINT SYSTEM This year the music department of the Alexandria High School adopted a new system of comparative rating whereby any student mem- ber of a musical organization is credited with a certain number of honor points for each musical activity in which he participated. According to this system, each student's points are totaled up at the end of the school year, and the individual is given an A, B, C, or D rating in ratio to the number of points he has earned. Those persons maintaining an A average in this system during their high school years will be given a special award when they graduate. Honor points are credited for attendance, co-operation, con- dition of instrument, and membership in chamber groups. Likewise, points are deducted from each student's total for poor attitude, slow progress, untidy uniform and unexcused absence. The new point system is proving to be very satisfactory in that it has created greater interest in music by setting up a definite goal for each student. Twenty-two

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1936 THE ALEXIAN 1936 GLEE CLUBS In the vocal section of the music department, the Alexandria High School has had remarkable success, turning out well-balanced, high- rating boys, glee clubs, girls' gleeclubs, and mixed choruses which have won hghvhonors in music contests for the past eight years. Between the the two organizations, boys' and girls', have captured six firsts, three econds, one third, four A ratings, three B ratings, and two ' r tings in district competition. , Besides competing in the district music contests, the glee clubs ave rticipated in various school affairs. Early in December, the vo- al lg ups presented a concert, and later in the same month they com- ined ith the local choral club for the fifth annual presentation of the Messia . On February third the combined glee clubs and choral club D gave ictor Hugo's opera Naughty Marietta. Several members of the - ocal lubs also took part in the vocal clinic held at Osakis in March. A Throughout the past year Miss Gretchen Stieler has conducted the b ys' glee club, girls' glee club, and mixed chorus. Operatic pro- 4 duct' n was directed by Harold Arentsen. ' iors in the boys' and girls' glee clubs are Evangeline Berg, Rut Bergs om, Donald Brown, Dona DuBeau, Robert Elness, Glen Er- 1 'ck on, Juliette Hareid, Eileen Hubbell, Marian Knauf, Ruth Patrick Ma 1 Peterson, Wilbur Schackel, and Ruby Swenson. 7 ' THE MUSIC CONTEST Q With a rating of two A plus', five A's, seven B's, and one C, Al- e andria High School was again one of the outstanding schools at the 1936 district music contest, which was again held in the local school. T e rating of the 15 var ous groups were as follows: X . X Senior igh orchestra. ................ A plus X Senio high band ............ ....... A plus Seni high mixed chorus ...... .....,... A eni high girls' glee club .... ....... 1 A 'X r high orchestra ......... ....... A gl X um r high girls' glee club .... ....... A uartet .................. ....... A KU , 'gd 'glgrtheoys' glee club ..... ....... B X- K ring quartet ............... ....... B it ass quartet. .................. ....... B unior high mixed chorus ..... ....... B ' unior high band ........... ...,,,, B ig oodwind quintet ........ .,...,, C TQ 5 T Tweqzy-four .X H