Groton youth score high in national fine arts competition

One facet of the Assemblies of God National Youth Conference is its Fine Arts Festival, where young people from every corner of the nation who have qualified at their respective state competitions may compete nationally.

Twelve students from Groton Assembly of God’s vibrant youth group were among a record-setting year of 11,000 attendees at this year’s August conference in Orlando, Florida — and all placed with high scores.

Most notable was Ethan Besler, a rising junior at Groton Jr./Sr. High School (GHS). He garnered first place in the nation in the “brass solo” category. He said, “I was excited to have the opportunity to compete. I wasn’t expecting to win, but I did! I plan to continue to play trumpet as much as I can. Maybe God has a plan for me with that.”

Ethan also received a score of “superior” in the human video category and a score of “excellent” for worship team. His twin brother, Evan, also at GHS, received “superior” in both small vocal ensemble and human video.

Evan also said he was excited to participate, but he was “a little stressed out” because the venue was “a really big place.” He said that he didn’t expect a high score, but getting one “felt really good.”

Human video and worship team were group efforts

Many in the group were involved in the human video. In addition to the Beslers, Lily Manzari, Rebecca Lanzilotta, Malakai Morse, Brooke Ostrander, Will Ostrander, Hannah Wright and Haylee Vincent also received “superior.”

“This was my third year making it to nationals, and I was very excited to participate,” Morse said. Brooke added, “I was really excited that our human video scored so high because I choreographed it.”

Also receiving “excellent” for worship team with Ethan were Manzari, Lanzilotta, Morse, Brooke, Hannah and Bailey Wright. Hannah and Lanzilotta each received “superior” for vocal solos, and Hannah also garnered “superior” in small vocal ensemble with Evan.

“I was excited but also nervous, because this was such a higher level of arts than at the state level,” Will said. “Practices were tiring but worth it. I was excited and relieved that we won.”

“I thought it was a really cool experience and encouraging to see how God has blessed so many people in so many ways,” Hannah said. “I was really nervous about getting results at the state level and really happy we made it — and really happy because I have self-doubt sometimes.”

And in the nonperformance categories …

Erin Wright and Suzanne Manzari are both coaches for Groton Assembly’s fine arts participants. Erin said that there were 500 more entries than usual in the nonperformance categories, yet every student they took to Orlando who competed in those categories came home with high scores.

Scoring “superior” were both Will and Hannah in digital photography (she took 10th place in the nation), Autumn Lanzilotta in fiber arts, Lily in photography mobile, Vincent in worship dance, Morse in T-shirt design and graphic design (he took sixth place in the nation), Rebecca in short film and Grace Short in spoken word, poetry, 2-D painting and drawing alternative media.

“Going to nationals and seeing thousands of students around the country utilizing the gifts God has given them was truly an amazing experience, and definitely inspiring to me,” Short said. “Scoring so high in my categories was very rewarding and humbling. I was so glad that the words God gave me had truly impacted people, and that my art was able to speak to others, as well. It makes me excited to see where God wants to lead me next!” 

Brooke scored “excellent” in mobile photography and digital photography, Morse and Lily both in digital photography, and Lily also in T-shirt design. Rebecca scored in the book chapter category. 

Rebecca is a home-schooled rising senior who is simultaneously a freshman at Liberty University working toward a degree in film and creative development, so her scores were very affirming for her.

Lily said the whole experience was “fun, tiring, and hot, but winning was exciting and makes me look forward to growing in my gifts even more.”

What the coaches said

“It was a very busy week that could definitely be overwhelming at times,” Erin said. “The kids all did very well with everything they presented. I know some of them were a little intimidated by the high level of talent we were seeing all around us, but they proved that they were just as gifted.”

“The heart of fine arts is for youth to discover, develop and deploy the gifts that God has given them to share with the world,” Suzanne said. “It’s given these kids opportunities to connect with other Christians their age and see they are not alone in their pursuit of the things of the Lord. They also get feedback from judges to help them hone their giftings. I am very blessed with how hard each one of them worked on their pieces and for them to see the fruit of their labor in doing so well at the national level. It was crazy at times and challenging, but it has allowed me to get to know them better and to see the work that God is doing in their lives.”

“We put in about six months of weekly practices for the group categories, and it’s great to see their hard work and commitment pay off,” Erin said. “It really makes you realize how high a level of gifting we have in this group, when out of thousands from all around the country we have four who finished in the top 10 of their categories. It’s really remarkable that we come from such a small church compared to others. There were quite a few that had over 100 students participating!” 

“It was an experience you don’t want to miss,” Bailey said. “The Holy Spirit was very evident in every performance, and it was very impactful.”

In brief:

Groton Assembly rummage sale

Groton Assembly of God, 701 S. Main St., will hold a rummage sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31 to help raise funds to renovate its fellowship hall. The sale will feature furniture, appliances, antiques, household items and much more, but no clothing. Pricing is by donation. Lunch refreshments will be available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hot dog, chips, and a beverage can be purchased for $5. Homemade strawberry shortcake will be $3 per bowl.

Call for Zoning and Ethics Board members

The town of Groton needs members to serve on its zoning and ethics boards. Find the application for the zoning board at townofgrotonny.org. Contact supervisor@grotontown.com to apply for the ethics board.