Loudoun County Students Rock Out While Raising Funds

Students at Heritage High School were able to experience a new type of fundraiser Saturday night thanks to senior Mary Paige Rodgers who came up with the idea last year.

Interested in finding a new way to raise money for guitar students at the school, Rodgers said she teamed up with other students to create a guitar competition that would help raise money instead of washing cars or other typical fund raiser ideas.

“I got together with my artist guitar class and introduced the idea, which then took flight with extensive planning and advertising,” Rodgers said, adding that she has always wanted to shine a light on high school kids who possessed the skills for playing the guitar. “I'm a guitar player myself and I play a variety of styles. I wanted to see who else was out there to share the love of guitar.”

Seven competitors responded to the event including two middle school students and five high school students from within Loudoun County. Each one participated in the solo electric guitar competition by performing a cover song or something they created on their own.

“I was very happy with the competition,” said Guitar Director Doctor Kevin Vigil. “The competitors all showed great "sportsmanship" and there seemed to be quite a bit of parental support for these young guitarists.”

Vigil said judging was set up in the same format as the television show American Idol. Following each three minute performance, a set of judges had one minute each to comment on the solo. Based on various criteria, each judge provided a numeric score, which determined who would move on to the final round. Composition, stage presence, originality, rhythm, sound, technique and fluidity were all judged based on a scale of 1 to 11.

The Ultimate Shredder went to Potomac Falls High School student Anthony Brown who performed his own self-composed song. He was awarded with a $50 gift certificate to spend on musical merchandise of his choice.  

“It felt good to win because all of the other people were really good,” Brown said, who has been playing the guitar for about four years. “It would have been enjoyable even if I didn’t win. It was just fun. There were other people there who really enjoy music and they were all having fun with it too. It was just nice to be around people who have the same interests and everything.”

Heritage High School Junior Alex Lassa was the runner up. As the lead guitarist of the local teen metal band Disengage, Lassa said he was excited to compete in the first annual competition.

“It was a totally new idea so I was excited to be able to showcase a style of guitar playing that I think is the coolest, and my favorite,” Lassa said, who performed Technical Difficulties by Paul Gilbert. “It feels great. The guy who I went up against was really good. It was just a lot of fun and it felt really good. I don’t have any regrets or anything. I think everything went good and everything was fair.”

According to Vigil, the guitar programs in LCPS have a curriculum that is based in musical literacy, or classically based. Even though the students study classical guitar, many are interested in various styles of music, he said.

Former students from Heritage High School have gone on to earn degrees in Music Performance, Music Education, Music Therapy, and Music Production so there was no doubt that the event was going to be a good time.

“It was awesome to see my idea become a reality and I was very happy with the results,” Rodgers said. The event raised more money than she thought and she hopes to see the same results next year.

Funds from the event will support field trips for Heritage High School guitar students who have been invited to perform at the Yale Guitar Extravaganza, next March.