WS/FC Students Participate in All-State Honors Band and All-State Jazz Band

On Saturday, March 5, band students from across North Carolina met in Lexington to participate in the 2016 All-State Honors (concert) Band and All-State Jazz Band auditions.

To be eligible to audition, these students had to qualify for membership in their region’s jazz band or to have scored at the top of their section at their all-district auditions.

Fifty-six students from Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools auditioned for membership in the All-State Honors (concert) Band.

“This means that out of the 345 students that auditioned for Honors Band, 17 percent of the students came from Forsyth County!” said Matt Liner, the band director at Meadowlark Middle School. “To earn the opportunity to audition for Honors Band is one of the highest honors achievable by a scholastic musician. Our school system’s representation at the All-State Jazz Auditions was also impressive with 14 of the 125 students coming from a Forsyth County jazz band program.”

Following the auditions, it was announced that WS/FC students earned 18 positions in the middle school, ninth-10th Grade or 11th-12th Grade All-State Honors (concert) Bands. Forsyth County also had students that represented the school system as members of the All-State Jazz Bands.

“Four of our students had the highest audition score of anyone on their instrument at their grade level resulting in them earning first-chair positions,” Liner said. “This achievement designates them as the best performer on their instrument in their age group in the entire state of North Carolina.

All-State Middle School Honors (concert) Band Members
Grace Dai – 8^th Chair Flute – Hanes Middle School
Trenton Smart – 14^th Chair Clarinet – Paisley IB Magnet
Aster Shear – 20^th Chair Clarinet – Clemmons Middle School
Jacob Kathman – 7^th Chair Trombone – Meadowlark Middle School

All-State 9^th & 10^th Grade Honors (concert) Band Members
Eric Ross – 4^th Chair Flute – Ronald Reagan High School
Grace Krell – 7^th Chair Flute – West Forsyth High School
Sunnie Li – 10^th Chair Flute – Ronald Reagan High School
Gehao Pang – 12^th Chair Clarinet – West Forsyth High School
Tony Xiao – 18^th Chair Clarinet – West Forsyth High School
Bryce Swaim – 1^st Chair Contra-Bass Clarinet – Walkertown High School
Tanner Morrison – 3^rd Chair Trumpet – Ronald Reagan High School
Tyler Hiatt – 6^th Chair French Horn – West Forsyth
Jonah McKee – 6^th Chair Trombone – West Forsyth
Himani Bhat – 2^nd Chair Mallets – Ronald Reagan High School

All-State 11^th & 12^th Grade Honors (concert) Band Members
Caleb Kirtechevsky – 3^rd Chair Trumpet – RJ Reynolds High School
Alec Weide – 2^nd Chair French Horn – West Forsyth High School
Jeremiah Kamtman – 1^st Chair Trombone – RJ Reynolds High School
Jacob Dobson – 2^nd Chair Euphonium – Ronald Reagan High School

All-State Middle School Jazz Band Member
Greg Foushee – 1^st Chair Baritone Saxophone – Meadowlark Middle School
Trey Burgess – 4^th Chair Trumpet – Hanes Middle School

All-State High School Jazz Band Member
Daniel Lucas – 1^st Chair Trombone – Ronald Reagan High School
Jonah McKee – 5^th Chair Trombone – West Forsyth High School

“Participating in one of the All-State ensembles will provide these outstanding musicians the opportunity to learn and perform some of the most-advanced band literature possible for scholastic musicians,” Liner said. “These students will also receive instruction from some of the most-respected music educators in the nation.”

The students that qualified for the North Carolina All-State Jazz Band participated in a rehearsal clinic held on the campus of the North Carolina School of Science & Math (NCSSM) in Durham on April 8 and 9. The All-State Jazz Band event concluded with a concert held in the auditorium of NCSSM at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 9.

Those that qualified for membership in the North Carolina Honors Band will participate in a rehearsal clinic held on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill April 29 through May 1.

The Honors band event will conclude with a concert held in Memorial Auditorium on the UNC campus at 1:30 p.m. on May 1st. This concert is free and open to the public.