Band Students and Directors Participate in NEIBA Festival

Thirty-seven Linn-Mar band students and their directors participated in the NEIBA District Honor Band Festival held recently at the 54th annual Northeast Iowa Bandmasters Association (NEIBA) Honor Band Festival in Oelwein. Representing Linn-Mar, were 18 middle school students selected to participate in one of two middle school bands and 19 high school students selected to participate in one of two high school bands. More than 500 students from 64 middle schools and 62 high schools participated in the event. As part of the festival, middle school students auditioned for acceptance into the “All Iowa 8th Grade Honor Band” to be held in Des Moines in May 2018 with Linn-Mar having eight students selected with three alternates.

Linn-Mar HS Band Director Aaron Nuss was one of the two NEIBA middle school guest directors this year. In addition, Steve King, Excelsior middle school band director, and NEIBA Middle School Honor Band Chairman oversaw all activities of the two 132 piece middle school groups.

Brett Dupree, Oak Ridge middle school band director received the 2017 Phillip Sehmann Excellence in Teaching Award for middle school directors.

High School students selected were:  Mikayla Langhurst, flute; Haley Kleymann, flute; Kalliopi Katsiris, flute; Megan Wolfe, clarinet; Elizabeth Pauly, clarinet; Madison Kuhlman, clarinet; Patricia Redington, clarinet; Erica Ly, clarinet; Sophie Wilbanks, clarinet; Jaslyn Riherd, clarinet; Katie Greiner, alto sax; Garrett Powell, baritone sax; Matt Helberg, trumpet; Ben Lepsch, trumpet; Nathan Wylie, trumpet; Sushanth Rao, French horn; Caleb Almasi, tuba; Sierra Christensen, percussion; and Cadin Evans, percussion.

Oak Ridge Middle School students selected were: Hanna Langley, flute; Hannah Gralund, clarinet; Madison Marcus, clarinet; Nikhil Reuben, trumpet; Moosa Hamad, french horn; Vivian Shanley, French horn, Brendan Brook, trombone; Braeden Dupree, trombone; and Eliana Francis, percussion.

Excelsior Middle School students selected were: Aadarsh Kumar, flute; Maddie Nuss, clarinet; Julia Brough, clarinet; Sophia Gardner, alto sax; Caleb Brown, baritone sax, Peter Kamp, trumpet; Colin Gillund, trombone; Kimmy Moore, percussion; and Nastya Radionova, percussion.

The following middle students were selected for the “All Iowa” Honor Band:  Hanna Langley, flute; Hannah Gralund, clarinet; Maddie Nuss, clarinet; Nikhil Reuben, trumpet; Moosa Hamad, French horn, Brendan Brooks, trombone; Braeden Dupree, trombone; and Kimmy Moore, percussion.

The following middle school students were selected as alternates for the “All Iowa” Honor Band:  Caleb Brock, baritone sax; Peter Kamp, trumpet; and Vivian Shanley, French horn.

Congratulations to all our band students and staff!