On Monday, February 7, 2022, five students from the Alliance High School Band left AHS at 7:20 A.M. and made their way to Chadron State College to practice for their performance on February 8. These students were hand-selected by judges and directors who went through various audition recordings. 

The five students who attended were Aiden Zaro, Madeline Huss, Landyn Branstiter, Daulton Mangas and Bayleigh McCracken. Zaro went for trumpet 1, Huss went for alto saxophone, Branstiter attended for tenor saxophone, Mangas went for tuba and McCracken was selected as a percussionist. Laura Mangas, the AHS band director, drove these students to and from CSC both days. 

These musicians spent at least six hours a day practicing at CSC for their final concert. They spent even more time preparing their audition to even be accepted into this honor band. Each student has shown a strong commitment to music and has made the community of Alliance extremely proud. The final concert showcasing all of their hard work took place on February 8 at 5 pm. 

There were around 100 students who were accepted into the honor band and performed the concert. The students managed to put together four musical pieces for their final performance, which was directed by Dr. William K. Wakefield. They started out with “Kirkpatrick Fanfare” composed by Andrew Boysen Jr., then the band played “Kinesis” composed by Michael Sweeney, next they played “Café 512” composed by Ryan George and they finished out their concert with “The Marches of John Williams” composed by John Williams.

These extremely talented musicians put in lots of hard work and hours, and it paid off. The entire band put out a very strong sound that blew the audience away. The Spud is proud of all of the AHS students who attended.