October 2012 Contest Results!

This year's contest was slightly larger than last year with a total of 76 contestants.  It was amazing to sit back and listen to all the great music, and to hear how everyone has improved since last year!

We started everything off with the Junior Flattop Guitar Contest.  There were so many contestants in this division that we actually ended up splitting the division into two divisions.  It was originally 16 & Under, but we went ahead and judged 10 & Under in its own division.  Here are the results:

Flattop Guitar - 10 & Under
1st - Claire Rausch
2nd - Emily Causey
3rd - Isabelle Hobbs
4th - Katie Haubrick (Most Entertaining)
5th - Noah Lintker
Youngest - Isabella Worthington

Flattop Guitar - 16 & Under
1st - Rosemary Hall (3rd year in a row!)
2nd - Sam Currey
3rd - Matthew Worthington
4th - Colin Gray
5th - Amber Bleem

After the Youth Guitar divisions, we had the Open Guitar division.  This was for ages 17 & Up.  Ages of contestants in this division ranged from 17 to 74 years of age, and since the oldest and the youngest both placed, this just goes to prove my theory that you are never too old or too young to play music!

Flattop Guitar - Open Division
1st - Zane Prosser (Oldest Contestant)
2nd - Emily Hall (Most Entertaining)
3rd - Chelsea Bergmann
4th - Mike Wall
5th - Dan Fraser

One of the unique things about our October contest is that we have an Adult Beginner Division for both the fiddle and the banjo.  This division is specifically for anyone that is 21 years of age or older, and has played for four years or less.  It's a great way for adults to ease into playing in front of other people.  The purpose is to get everyone used to playing in front of others as soon as possible, but also allow them to do it without having to follow a veteran player.  The banjo players only play one song in this division, but the fiddle players still have to do a waltz and a hoedown.  I think this year's Adult Competitions were some of the best we've ever had. 

Adult Beginner Fiddle
1st - Denise Voegele
2nd - Trice Pisetta
3rd - Kevin Martin (Most Entertaining)
4th - Zach Bergmann
5th - Lena McDonnell

Adult Beginner Banjo
1st - Dennis Huebner
2nd - Steve Dibbert (Most Entertaining)

Next stop is the Junior Fiddle divisions.  We had a total of 23 contestants in two divisions!  This division was very entertaining because there were so many great performances by the cutest fiddlers I've ever seen. I could write a paragraph about each one! It is a testament to the parents that they help their kids make time for this, and then support them in it.  I would like to make special mention of our 3rd place winner, Lillie.  Lillie is not a Bluegrass Shack student, and she played all by herself because she is new to bluegrass and had not played with a guitar player before.  She did an amazing job and has such a great tone quality.

Junior II Fiddle (12 & Under)
1st - Audrey Neel (Most Entertaining)
2nd - Nathanael Worthington
3rd - Lillie Roever
4th - Maggie Currey
5th - Nolan Neumeyer
Youngest - Isabella Worthington

Junior I Fiddle (13 - 17 Years Old)
1st - Rosemary Hall
2nd - Emily Hall
3rd - Emily Morgan (Most Entertaining)
4th - Caroline Stewart
5th - Lucas Worthington

The Open and Senior divisions of the fiddle competition were fierce!  Though it was all in fun, these contestants were really out to beat each other!  They were even trying to guess who was the oldest at the awards ceremony (and they were wrong).  This was certainly a lot of fun.

Open Fiddle
1st - Chelsea Bergmann
2nd - Dennis Huebner
3rd - Katarina Worthington (1st contest)
4th - Tim Dever
5th - Susan Crider (Most Entertaining)

Senior Fiddle
1st - Ron Dailey
2nd - Zane Prosser
3rd - Pat Sorrell (Oldest Fiddle Player)
4th - Bill Weiss

Now, last but certainly not least, let's get on with the banjo competitions.  We had eight contestants in the Junior Banjo division, which makes it one of the largest we've had.  We certainly heard some fast picking!

Junior Banjo (16 & Under)
1st - Lucas Worthington
2nd - Luke Currey (Most Entertaining)
3rd - Jake Morgan
4th - Christi Gray
5th - Joshua Dolan
Youngest - Joy Ann Worthington

Open / Senior Banjo
1st Place Senior - Larry Maxwell (Oldest Banjo Player)
1st Place Open - Emily Hall
2nd Place - Chelsea Bergmann (Most Entertaining)
3rd Place - Kevin Martin
4th Place - Larry Reuss

A big thank you goes out to Dual Generation for making the food and taking care of everything that had to do with the food, including the setup, selling and cleanup.  It was great.  I had chili and chocolate chip cookies, so I know!  G'Pops brought kettle corn as well, and I simply couldn't leave without buying a big bag for myself!  With the holiday season approaching, if you are wondering what to get the person who has everything, you need to consider contacting G'Pops for a large holiday bag!  I don't believe they do mail order, but if you are local, it's a great option.  You can reach them at their website at http://www.gpopskettlecorn.com/.

Thank you to our judges, Iggie Tiemann and John Bell.  They sat behind a curtain and judged for five hours!  They are both great players, experienced judges, and simply wonderful people.  My mom (Carla) took care of registration and scores, and Dennis and Steve helped at the door.  Earl took pictures of every single contestant for us, which you can find on our Facebook page.  We had lots of help setting up and tearing down, which is especially nice when there is so much to do.  The audience was terrific -- very attentive and appreciative!  This was a fun day and a huge success.  Can't wait for the next one!