The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Students take part in Honors Band
Four members of the Perry High School Band recently were invited to participate in the Ohio Music Education Association’s Districts Four and Seven Honors Band Festival hosted by Cleveland State University.
Selected for their abilities were seniors Katie Gyure on percussion; Madeleine Pierce on flute; Abigail Wren on trumpet; and junior Gabriella Todd on clarinet.
The Perry High School Band program is directed by Brad Hruska.
The students were nominated by Hruska and Jeff Miller, director of instrumental music at Perry Middle School.
Students from schools around Greater Cleveland participated in the Honors Band Festival.
This year’s festival, once again, featured two Honors Bands, the Falcons and the Vikings.
The bands were led by Birch Browning, associate professor of music and the director of bands at CSU, and Capt. Shanti C. Simon, flight commander for the United States Air Force Academy Band.
Both performed Nov. 11 in Waetjen Auditorium on the CSU campus.
According to a Perry Schools news release, the Ohio Music Education Association is the third largest of the 52 federated state affiliates of the National Association for Music Education. Ohio Music Education Association members are involved at all levels of music education, serving more than 1.8 million public school students in 612 districts, and 51 colleges and universities in Ohio.
First formed in 1924 in Fostoria, Ohio, the Ohio School Band Association was designed to “promote high school band contests” in Ohio, but by 1929, had expanded its emphasis to include all areas of music study.
Now in its 85th year, the Ohio Music Education Association is one of the oldest music education associations in the country. Its mission is to foster a spirit of collaboration for the mutual benefit of all aspects of music education.
Hruska said the students who participated had a wonderful time and learned quite a bit from the guest clinicians.
“It is an honor for them to be selected and participate in this honors band,” he said.
“I am very proud of their dedication, how hard they work each day and their leadership in our band program here at Perry.”