Upgrades for the 2011 Competition Season

A note from the grading committee: There are many people who requested upgrades who are not on this list. There are many factors that go into the decision about whether someone is ready to do well in a higher grade.  We looked at each person, name by name, and in addition to what they had provided, we looked at the number of contests, whether they had any first places, whether they got their ranking by going to lots of contests or by beating a lot of people in the contests they went to, whether they seemed to be doing well in both light music and piobaireachd, whether if we had heard them, they seemed to be playing at a higher standard or not, and how many AGLs they had and whether they were given by different judges.
 
We did not and will not move someone up simply because of the amount of time they have spent in a grade.  As was printed in the Voice several times over the past couple of years:

As a player progresses through the grades, the music board is looking for evidence of experience, ability and the repertoire to warrant being in the higher grade.  We look for consistent performance, and strength in both light music and piobaireachd. From Grade 2 up, players should not expect to move up after only one year in a grade, because the experience gained there is important.

The committee is particularly conservative about moving people up from Grade 3 and above. To move into Grade 2, 1 or Professional, you MUST show evidence that you can meet that standard in three areas: the quality of your instrument, your technical ability, and your musical expression. In addition, we are looking for a show of professionalism: you don’t leave out parts, mix up parts, have big technical flaws, you don’t break down, and you have a good instrument as a matter of course.

You will be receiving a letter notifying you of the appeal process. If you wish to appeal, please do so at that time and follow the process.  However, stating to the committee that so-and-so was put up and you beat them in XXX  contests will not help you.  Instead, look at the criteria in the paragraphs above, evaluate why you think we might have made that decision based on the information you provided, the information in the standings, and these criteria. Then make your case to try to address the issues.

 

The following competitors and bands have been upgraded for the 2011 season:

Piping

P1 to PP

  • Bova, Andrew
  • Durning, Bobby

P2 to P1

  • Brunson, Kirk
  • Hall, Geordie
  • Lundberg, Nicholas
  • Poyntz, Sean
  • Praskovich, Ryan

P3 to P2

  • Bean, Eryk
  • Capone, Michael
  • Cournoyer, Colleen
  • Daniel, David
  • Douglas, Andrew
  • Eagan, Kevin
  • Gearhart, Sean
  • Heizer, Christopher
  • Hicks, James
  • Honor, Robert
  • Sprague, Daniel
  • Stewart, Madeline
  • Thompson, Connor
  • Webster, Campbell
  • Wichman, Kurt

P4Jr to P3

  • Bissex, Ramsey
  • Brown, Kathleen
  • Burns, Stacia
  • Dalgauer, Sean
  • Dickinson, Jr., Andrew
  • Fenwick, Ned
  • Gilliland, Ryan
  • Grasty, Kyle
  • Hebert, Bridget
  • Helmick, Garrett
  • Lanier, Riley
  • MacDonald, Malcolm
  • Minnear, Sarah
  • McManus, Kane
  • Quinn, Thomas
  • Rajendran, Rohit
  • Roberts, Benjamin Britton
  • Reddecliff, Brina
  • Sassi, Joshua
  • Shropshire, William
  • Walthers, Tyler
  • Whitener, Joshua

P4Sr to P3

  • Anderson, Stephen
  • Cameron, Elizabeth
  • Collins, Brad
  • Cummings, Harold
  • Cushing, Kate
  • Falzini, Mark
  • Felder, James
  • Flynt, Kenneth
  • Gleason, James
  • Gomez, Brendan
  • John, Rosemary
  • Kellis, Patricia
  • Kiffer, Fred
  • Le Goff, Yoann
  • MacMaster, Timothy
  • Mroczka, Christopher
  • Papariello, Joseph
  • Pezzulo, Jake
  • Rogers, Robert
  • Ryan, Thomas
  • Russell, Seamus
  • Scott, Katie
  • Scannell, Garth
  • Toscanini, Frank
  • Uribe, Ricardo
  • Walker, Heather
  • Walton, Aaron

P5 to P4Jr

  • Hughes, William

P5 to P4Sr

  • Lowry, John
  • Page, Barbara

Snare Drumming

S2 to S1

  • Ball, Sean
  • French, Kelsey
  • McCormack, Quinn
  • Parsons, Dan
  • Serneels, Steve J

S3 to S2

  • LaBelle, Hayden

S4Jr to S3

  • Campbell, Ian S
  • Davis, Paul
  • Pagillo, Joseph
  • Parr, Nick

S4Sr to S3

  • Cleary, Jeremiah
  • Cronin, Michael
  • Pickens, Keith

Tenor Drumming

Amateur 2 to Amateur 1

  • Boulais, Jamie
  • Hall, Shannon
  • Kovalchik, Jackson
  • Seton, Helwig

Drum Major

Amateur to Professional

  • Harkness, Bruce
  • Paige, David

Pipe Bands

Grade 5 to Grade 4

  • Albany Police Pipes & Drums
  • Charleston Police Pipe and Drum
  • Finger Lakes Pipe Band
  • Ian Sturrock Memorial PB
  • Scotia-Glenville Pipe Band
  • University of Mary Washington Eagle PB
  • Wake & District Public Safety Pipes and Drums
  • Westchester & District Pipe Band

Grade 3 to Grade 2

  • Great Lakes PB