Band students selected to Region Honor Band
Twenty-three Pea Ridge Blackhawk Band students have been selected to the ASBOA Region VI Honor Band. The region consists of students from Mountain Home, Harrison, Berryville, Eureka Springs, Gravette, Gentry, Bentonville, Rogers, Green Forest, Cotter, Valley Springs, Decatur, Alpena and Flippin. Approximately 900 band students from these schools auditioned for placement in the region honor band on Saturday, Jan. 7, at Lincoln Jr. High in Bentonville. There are two high school honor bands, grades 10-12, and two junior high honor bands, grades 7-9.
Students selected to the first senior high band were Jaron Reed, Devon Giertz and Quentin Mathis.
Students selected to the second senior high band were Cailey Bowie, Garrett Lang, Ashley Hansen, Jose Zaragoza, Jacob Boyle, Rett Watson and Josh Rugger.
Students selected to the first junior high band were Morgan Humphrey, Elsaysha Ewald, Layton Powell and Tate Christensen.
Students selected to the second junior high band were Stephanie Harris, Joseph Sanders, Sydney Pejsa, Victoria Spencer, Mikayla Hammond, Laura Hume, Jeremiah Wachtel, Taylor McCaslin and Elijah Hume.
Each of these students attended a two-day clinic the following weekend, Jan. 13-14, at Bentonville High School and Bentonville West. During these two days, the students rehearsed in their bands with guest clinicians preparing music that they performed Saturday afternoon in the Arend Arts Center auditorium on the campus of Bentonville High School.
In addition to being selected to the high school region honor band, five Pea Ridge students have qualified to audition for the ASBOA AllState Honor Bands. Those auditions will take place at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville on Friday, Feb. 3, and Saturday, Feb. 4.
Garrett Lang and Quentin Mathis will audition for the All-State Jazz Band Friday, having qualified to do so back in December when they were selected to the region honor jazz band. Lang and Mathis, along with Rett Watson, Devon Giertz and Jaron Reed, will all audition for the All-State Concert Band Saturday.