Blaine musician wins first place at state competition

Timothy Schrader, a senior at Blaine High School (BHS) who plays the tuba, recently won first place at a state solo contest.

The contest took place on April 27 at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. It was hosted by the Washington Music Educators Association.

This was the third year in a row that Schrader was an award winner at the state level. Last year he won first place as a junior, while the year before he took third place as a sophomore.

“I’m very, very proud of Tim,” said BHS band teacher Bob Gray. “It was an open competition, which means we were not just competing against schools our size. This was open, so nearly everyone there was from very large schools. It’s really competitive in an open competition, which makes it extra cool that Tim won first place in his category.”

Sydney Thrall, a BHS junior, performed a bassoon solo at the contest, while Stephanie Boczek, a ninth grader, performed an alto saxophone solo.

“Neither Stephanie nor Sydney was selected as a finalist, but they played great,” said Gray. “I’m very proud of all the work they put in. I’m proud to be their music teacher.”

Schrader, Thrall and Boczek headed to the state contest after performing at a regional solo and ensemble festival in January. The regional festival, sponsored by the San Juan Music Educators Association, took place at Bellingham High School on January 26.

According to the state contest rules, three judges listened to each soloist. The judges scored each soloist based on musicianship, tone, intonation, technique and literature. Each judge gave written comments and a rating to participants, who were ranked from first to last.