Five MICDS Upper and Middle School musicians recently achieved status in the Metro 8 District Honor Bands.
Students from the Metro 8 District – which includes St. Louis Public Schools, private/independent schools, and Fort Zumwalt and Francis Howell School Districts – prepared music and came together for auditions recently. The High School level auditions were Monday, October 29 at SLUH, and the Middle School level auditions were Saturday, November 3 at St. Gabriel the Archangel. All of these auditions were “blind” meaning the judges couldn’t see the students, rather only heard them play.
The following Upper School students received recognition in the Metro 8 District Honor Band and will be eligible to audition for the All State Band on Saturday, December 1 in Columbia, MO.
Rafi Gil Diaz – Clarinet (Rafi scored the first-ever perfect score from the judge on his audition!)
Eric Ji – Clarinet
Kelci Creath – Flute
The audition process is intense and sometimes involves 3 or 4 rounds as they keep calling back the selected players to whittle down to the few best musicians. The All State Band rehearses and performs as part of the Missouri Music Educators Association State Conference at Tan-Tar-A Resort, Lake of the Ozarks, MO in January.
The following Middle School students made it into the Metro 8 District Middle School Honor Band:
Kyle Sha – Alto Saxophone
Owen Zhang – Trumpet
Both Upper and Middle School student groups had rehearsal on Tuesday, November 6, and Saturday, November 17. Despite an additional rehearsal being cancelled due to snow, both groups put on a fantastic concert on Sunday, November 18. The High School Band was conducted by Dr. Brian Silvey, Director of Band at Mizzou. The Middle School Band was conducted by Mrs. Linda Huck, retired band director from Farmington, MO.