The Mendon and Upton music department had a great year and finished strong this spring with fantastic performances by all of the music ensembles in the district. Audiences were treated to mature and complex performances by the Nipmuc Jazz Ensemble starting in March at the MAJE festival hosted at Nipmuc as well as the State Finals Festival hosted at Norwood High School. Students from the Nipmuc ensembles put themselves out there and performed at the MICCA festival, receiving feedback from clinicians and performing for other schools. The hard working students at Nipmuc kept the momentum going by putting on a spectacular performance of “Beauty and the Beast”. All the performance ensembles in the district finished out the year with an incredible display of growth performing for packed audiences at the Nipmuc/Miscoe Pops Concerts, the 5th and 6th Grade Spring performances at Miscoe and the 4th grade combined choruses. The students in the music department never disappoint and should always be very proud of their hard work and dedication. The music department is excited to keep the music going over the summer with its jazz workshop in August and the Nipmuc students are excited to share their talents as they look to travel to Virginia in April of 2024!

A few students in the district went above and beyond in their musical journey, auditioning for and participating in the Central District Festival and All-State Festival: Danielle Jolie, Elisa Plano, Josie DeLorme, Lauren Scott, Alexis Schwartberg, Joe Trainer, Sam Mayo, Emma Cotter, Daniel Fransen, Leah Harris, Ethan LaRue, and Hannah Laurence. Finally, the Mendon Upton Music Boosters and along with the music department would like to recognize and thank all of the hard work our seniors have demonstrated throughout their time in the program and wish them luck in their future endeavors outside the Nipmuc music rooms.

Jacob Bigelow - Umass Amherst - Electrical Engineering 

Mallory Chace - UMass Amherst - Animal Science

Josie DeLorme - Holyoak Community College - Musical Theatre and Opera

Eva Diaz - Worcester State University - Social Work

Brian Dubowik - Providence College - Undecided

Daniel Franson - Cornell University 

Danielle Jolie - Clark University - English and Creative Writing

Astrid Lee - Clark University - Psychology, Pre Med

Sarah Ludwigson - Connecticut College - Mathematics and Psychology

Ally Lukasek - University of Kentucky - Nursing

Sam Mayo - American Musical and Dramatic Academy - Acting

Bridget Murphy - Wheaton College - Creative Writing and Film & New Media Studies

Sarah Page - University of Vermont - English

Chanel Pires - Study Abroad

Jason Raymond - Nichols College - Criminal justice 

Ben Slayter - College - Mathematics

Megan St. Jean - Traveling

Luke Venable - Vanderbilt University - Economics

Danielle Walsh - Community College of Rhode Island - Dental Hygiene