Over the past two months, band and choir students have been traveling around the state participating in honor bands and choirs hosted by colleges. The students attended Oregon Trail Days hosted by Doane College, UNK honor band and choir, High Plains hosted by Chadron State College, and the choir students attended Hastings honor choir. To participate in these elite groups, students record a piece of music and send them into the director of the music department. Students wait a few months to receive word on entrance and if accepted, music is sent and students attend the college to perform as a group.

    The students who attended the Doane honor band were Sariah Grant, Emmy Green, Peyton Stoike, Jake McCaffery, Cade Stephenson, Tyler Girard, Preston Pohlman, and Hannah Middleton. The UNK honor band students were Sariah Grant, Jake McCaffery, and Emmy Green. The UNK festival band students were Peyton Stoike, Hannah Middleton, and Cade Stephenson. The Chadron band students were Emmy Green, Sariah Grant, Peyton Stoike, Jake McCaffery, Hannah Middleton, and Cade Stephenson.

    The students who attended the Doane honor choir were Thalia Hinojosa, Jazlyn Garza, Elora Bleisch, and Trajan Garcia. The UNK honor choir students were Jazlyn Garza, Grace Tolstedt, Trajan Garcia, and Emilio Ponce. The UNK festival choir student was Cheeroke Purviance. The UNK womens choir student was Thalia Hinojosa. The Hastings choir students were Thalia Hinojosa, Trajan Garcia, Elora Bleisch, Peyton Stoike, and Grace Tolstedt. The Chadron honor choir student was Aubrey Garrett.

    Senior trumpet player, Emmy Green, attended all honor bands this season. She stated, “Being able to see progress not only from myself, but also from all of my peers has been amazing. It is so inspiring to remember the previous year and say ‘hey, I did not used to be able to do this’ or ‘oh that kid has bumped up a lot of chair spots than last time, I can do the same thing.’ This year was really rewarding for me because I got out exactly what I put in. I am sad honor band season is over, but I’ve gotten to meet and play with many talented individuals from all over the state.”