2nd Annual Music Competition - Jan 31st

Student Category Performers:

• Joe Kerwin and Will Supple – Musicians from St. Sebastian’s School
• Treble Rebels - (www.facebook.com/NHSTrebleRebels) - Needham High School's female audition-based A Capella group.  They are an excellent group of vocalists.
• Kenny Ruetenik – (www.facebook.com/kennyruetenikmusic) - Ken is a NHS Freshman and local musician who plays piano and six other instruments including ukulele and mandolin. Ken has just released his first all original EP December of 2014.
• Subway Dwarves - (www.facebook.com/thesubwaydwarves) - Needham High School's male A Capella group.  They are wonderful singers in addition to being enthusiastic, and entertaining.
• Fermata Nowhere - Needham High School's largest A Capella group.  These women prove there is strength in numbers with their dynamic performances and vocal quality.

Intermission

Open Category Performers:

• Dan Coutu/Kevin Hiromoto/Asher Schachter – piano/drum/bass
  • Dan Coutu is a professional piano and guitar instructor with over 20 years teaching experience in the Needham area.  He graduated with honors from Berklee College of Music www.coutumusic.com.
  • Kevin Hiromoto is a jazz drummer who studied with Alan Dawson for many years and worked as a guest performer with Tiger Okoshi for Boston Higashi School for autism.
• Mackenzie Clement - This 12 year old singer songwriter has performed in front of audiences of 20,000 people including singing the national anthem at Gillette Stadium and performing her own songs.​  Joining her will be her cousin Leah Dupperon.
• Steven Snitzer – Mr. Snitzer is a piano teacher at the Suzuki School of Newton and at his home in Needham. Steve earned a Masters at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied piano. Steve also did Suzuki Teacher Training. He plays chamber music as well as solo repertoire in a variety of settings around New England.
• Farkhad Abdikadirov & Hayley Raye Murks - Viola-duo
  • ​​Farkhad Abdikadirov is from Tashkent, Uzbekistan and is attending the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, as a viola performance major.
  • Hayley Raye Murks is a native of Gulfport, MS and is attending the Longy School of Music in Cambridge as a viola performance major. She is the 2013 recipient of the Edith Eisler scholarship award from the STRINGS Magazine.
• Jam Sandwich – Jam Sandwich is a Needham-based soft rock cover band.  They have performed at New Year’s Needham, the Needham Farmer’s Market, and other local events.

Judges:

• Diana Dabby - Diana Dabby has taught at MIT, Tufts and Juilliard, and holds degrees in music and electrical engineering from Vassar, Mills, C.C.N.Y., and MIT. She is Music Program Director and Electrical Engineering faculty at Olin where she teaches orchestration, composition, and signal processing, as well as interdisciplinary courses connecting art and science.
• Anne Munstedt -  Anne has been teaching piano in Needham for 22 years.  She has also taught vocal music at the elementary level and conducted choral groups both at the college level and as a full time minister of music. Anne received her Bachelors degree in Music Education for piano and voice and Masters of Music degree in piano performance.  She has judged competitions for the Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts music teachers associations.
• Popular Vote - One of the judging votes is going to be based on voting from the audience.  The performers would appreciate it if you would stick around and cast your vote for your favorite group.

Sponsors:  We would like to thank this year’s sponsors.