BIG FUN. BIG TALENT.
BIG 9 MUSIC FESTIVAL Amanda Kaus
Q&A
with Music Instructors Century HS, Owatonna HS Story by PAT GARRY Contributing Writer
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ne of the longest standing and most impressive music events in southern Minnesota belongs to some of the region’s youngest performers. The 88th annual Big Nine Music Festival is Friday, May 1, at Rochester Century High School. It is a spectacle of top-performing choirs, bands and orchestras of the Big 9 schools. Top musicians are chosen from each school, to prepare special music for the select orchestra, select choir and select band performances. The festival brings over 2,000 student musicians together to perform for each other and clinicians and to showcase the musical talents of the students in the Big Nine Conference. The 12 schools in the Big Nine Conference include Albert Lea, Austin, Faribault, Mankato West and East, Northfield, Owatonna,
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Red Wing, Winona, and Mayo, John Marshall and Century, all from Rochester.
Q&A with Amanda Kaus Century Band Director/Century HS Approximately how many of your band student performers gather for the festival, throughout the day? AK: The festival brings together one representative band (orchestra and choir) from each school. Symphonic Winds is the ensemble representing Century and is comprised of 61 students. What time do band performances get underway, on the day of event? AK: Performances begin at 8:15 a.m. and continue every
