115 Milbank Musicians Perform in SD Band Contest

Milbank Elementary and Middle Middle School entered 115 band members in the South Dakota Bandmasters Grades 5-8 Band Contest on  April 13 and April 14. The instrumentals from Milbank received 18 Superior Plus, 80 Superior, 12 Superior Minus, 5 Excellent Plus, 26 Excellents.3 Good Plus, and 7 Goods

The contest originally featured over 200 entries, including students from Big Stone City, Browns Valley, Deubrook, Wilmot, and Ortonville, but was rescheduled due to a blizzard in February. 

All performances were based on tone, intonation, technique, interpretation, musical effect and other performance factors. The ratings are Superior (I), Excellent (II), Good (III), and Fair (IV). Judges may add a plus or minus following the rating. 

Elsie Seffrood, Addie Farrell, Evy Liebe, Camryn Sovell, Anna Neugebauer, Ellie Neugebauer, Hope Karels, Kristi Seehafer, and Deb Rausch served as accompanists for the students.  Mrs. Susan Karels is the director of the grades 6-12 band. Fifth-grade band instructors are Ms. Mariah Tietjen, Mrs. Deb Rausch, and Mrs. Susan Karels.