Shiner High School Band students place well at competition

  • Row 1: Gracie Baker, Madeline Collins, Tyler Hemphill, Marco Lara, Evy Johnson, Emma Joslin; Row 2: Jillian Dierlam, Charlotte Grosenbacher, Jackson Welch, Brooke Palmer, Natalie Rainosek, Ben Thomas; Row 3: Kaleb Matula, Aiden Collins, Eve Roberts, Brianna Sofka, Jansen Flores.
    Row 1: Gracie Baker, Madeline Collins, Tyler Hemphill, Marco Lara, Evy Johnson, Emma Joslin; Row 2: Jillian Dierlam, Charlotte Grosenbacher, Jackson Welch, Brooke Palmer, Natalie Rainosek, Ben Thomas; Row 3: Kaleb Matula, Aiden Collins, Eve Roberts, Brianna Sofka, Jansen Flores.

    Band students from across the area auditioned at the Region 18/26 High School All-Region contest on December 19, 2023. This contest challenged the students to learn eight scales and two pieces of college level music.
    The students were divided into sections and asked to play a selection from the scales and etudes. Five judges in each room ranked the students based on their performance.
    The top students from each section were placed in the Symphonic band, while the next few students from each section were placed in the Concert Band.
    If the students earned one of these spots, they were invited to attend a clinic on January 26 and 27 at the Jerry Fay Wilhelm Center for the Performing Arts in Bastrop.
    Here are the tremendous results achieved by our students:
    • Evy Johnson - 20th chair flute - 4th chair Concert Band - 1 chair from area
    • Emma Joslin - 24th chair flute - 8th chair Concert Band - 2 chairs from area
    • Marco Lara - 5th chair flute - 5th chair Wind Ensemble - advancing to area
    • Madeline Collins - 19th chair clarinet - 1st chair Concert Band- advancing to area
    • Tyler Hemphill - 24th chair clarinet - 6th chair Concert Band - advancing to area
    • Grace Baker - 6th chair bass clarinet - 4th chair Symphonic Band - advancing to area
    • Benjamin Thomas - 9th chair alto saxophone - 6th chair Symphonic Band - advancing to area
    • Brooke Palmer - 6th chair trumpet - 6th chair Wind Ensemble - advancing to area
    • Natalie Rainosek - 20th chair trumpet - 3rd chair Concert Band - advancing to area
    • Jillian Dierlam - 8th chair horn - 3rd chair Symphonic Band - advancing to area
    • Charlotte Grosenbacher - 1st chair horn - 1st chair Wind Ensemble - advancing to area
    • Kaleb Matula - 9th chair horn - 4th chair Symphonic Band - 1 chair from area
    • Jackson Welch - 2nd chair horn - 2nd chair Wind Ensemble - advancing to area
    • Jansen Flores - 4th chair trombone - 4th chair Wind Ensemble - advancing to area
    • Brianna Sofka - 2nd chair euphonium - 2nd chair Wind Ensemble - advancing to area
    • Aiden Collins - 1st chair tuba - 1st chair Wind Ensemble
    • Eve Roberts - 14th chair percussion - 6th chair Symphonic Band - advancing to area
    Our students achieved something that rarely happens in the band world. 100% of the students who auditioned from Shiner made an all-region band! This is especially impressive because they are competing against 1A-4A schools in order to make a band. We will also have thirteen students advance to the area round of competition in January.
    Aiden Collins earned a high enough chair to advance to area, but has chosen to participate in the Honor Performance Series in New York at the same time as ATSSB All-State. Because he picked the honors performance series, he wasn’t allowed to advance to area.
    Our students always do well at contests, but this was an especially impressive result for our students. Congratulations!