Four music-filled events will take place at the Warsaw Community High School Performing Arts Center in May.
Friday and Saturday, WCHS will host the Indiana State School Music Association state qualification contest for band, choir and orchestra. Drum Enchanted Evening will be May 7, the Fine Arts Festival will be May 14 and the Jazz Café and Taste of the Town will be May 21.
According to WCHS band director Mickey Ratliff, the state qualification contest kicks off Friday with the Warsaw Wind Ensemble performing at 5 p.m. in the auditorium. Six other bands and orchestras will follow, with the last performance at 9:30 p.m.Saturday, the qualifications start at 9:30 a.m. and end at 6:30 p.m. Thirteen bands and orchestras will showcase their talent.
The choir competition Saturday will be at Lakeview Middle School from 9:20 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. Warsaw's choir will perform at 9:40 a.m.
Each band and orchestra will have 30 minutes to perform, with the choirs performing for 20 minutes each.
The qualifications are free to attend.
Ratliff said all the music groups are vying for the opportunity to go to state finals, "so they're all going to be good." Several of the schools have been to state finals in the past, so he knows they will be good, he said.
"It's a great opportunity for the community to come. You don't have to stay for the whole thing," Ratliff said.
Other bands competing will include Concord, Valparaiso, Penn, Goshen and Lake Central among others. Valparaiso, Goshen and Penn also will have their orchestras there. Choirs will come from Snider, Huntington North, Crown Point and Northride as well as more.
"A lot of the same schools bringing bands and orchestras are also bringing choirs," Ratliff said.
During the high school band competition, the WCHS Band Boosters will sell concessions. During the choir competition at LMS, the Lakeview Choirs will sell concessions. Proceeds from the concessions will benefit the music groups of the schools.
"The contest isn't a huge moneymaker for us, but it's a very prestigious event for us to be asked to host it," said Ratliff.
Drum Enchanted Evening May 7 also is free and open to the public. It starts at 7:30 p.m. at the WCHS PAC.
As part of the Fine Arts Festival May 14 at the high school, the WCHS band will perform its Pops Concert at 7:30 p.m. It's also free.
The Jazz Café May 21 is $5. Tickets are on sale at the WCHS PAC Box Office during school hours and the night of the concert.
The Taste of the Town starts at 6 p.m., with the Jazz Café beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Ratliff said Taste of the Town will have several local restaurants providing food and snacks in the cafeteria. Among the vendors will be Betty's Cake Shop, Brown Bag Deli, Hacienda Mexican Restaurant, Mad Anthony's, Penguin Point Catering, Pizza Hut Lake Village, Pizza King, Ritters, Steak 'N' Shake and Taste of Texas BBQ. Any other restaurants interested in participating may contact Audie and Nancy Williams at audieandnancy@mchsi.com or call 574-268-9195.
During the Jazz Café concert, the middle and high schools jazz bands will perform. Other performances will be by The Brass Grooves and The Chain Gang Barbershop Quartet.
There will be an auction or raffling during the Jazz Café of an autographed Paula Deen cookbook. Deen has her own show on the Food Network.
