Middle School and High School Musicians Selected for District Honor Band
Nine students from Excelsior Middle School, ten students from Oak Ridge Middle School, and seventeen students from Linn-Mar High School have been selected to participate in the annual Northeast Iowa Bandmasters Association (NEIBA) Honor Band Festival on Saturday, December 7, 2024. Each of these students will perform in one of four select ensembles made up of middle school or high school instrumentalists from approximately 60 schools in Northeast Iowa.
The students will rehearse all day in Oelwein and present concerts in the Oelwein High School Gymnasium at 5:00 (middle school) and 7:00 (high school). Guest conductors for this year’s festival are Samantha Beeman (West Des Moines), Jayson Gerth (Ankeny), Linn-Mar alumnus Dr. Steve Shanley (Cedar Rapids), and Erin Holmes (Farmington, MN). Music on the program will feature selections by several contemporary composers as well as traditional concert band music.
The following instrumentalists from Linn-Mar Schools were selected for this honor:
Excelsior Middle School
| Ava Homan | Bassoon |
| Ava Meier | Horn |
| Brylee Novak | Clarinet |
| Ethan Pratt | Trumpet |
| Olivia Scilley | Euphonium |
| Marion Spolaore | Alto Saxophone |
| Aidan Telisak | Percussion |
| Peyton Vrba | Trombone |
| Zoey Williams | Clarinet |
Oak Ridge Middle School
| Ella Bensema | Horn |
| Isaiah Elhard | Clarinet |
| Bernadeta Jaritz | Clarinet |
| Clarisse Laurent | Trombone |
| Harish Nandakumar | Euphonium |
| Joury Said | Flute |
| Catherine Sklarsky | Clarinet |
| Harikesh Thiyagarajan | Tenor Saxophone |
| Saisha Virwani | Oboe |
| Tyler Walstrom | Horn |
Linn-Mar High School
| Ren Dvorsky | Baritone Saxophone | Junior |
| Ellie Fredin | Clarinet | Sophomore |
| Paige Harksen | Clarinet | Junior |
| Hudson Kensinger | Bass Clarinet | Freshman |
| Nick Kindl | Tuba | Freshman |
| Eve McInroy | Clarinet | Sophomore |
| Molly McPeek | Alto Saxophone | Junior |
| Lily Miglia | Flute | Sophomore |
| Maria Neihart Thielen | Clarinet | Sophomore |
| Jasper Neymeyer | Tuba | Sophomore |
| River Newton | Clarinet | Junior |
| Connor Niemeier | Tenor Saxophone | Freshman |
| Khushi Reddy | Clarinet | Junior |
| Sophia Ryon | Oboe | Freshman |
| Abram Sennett | Tuba | Sophomore |
| Nick Soto | Clarinet | Senior |
| Peyton Stoller | Trumpet | Junior |
