Toni Garrard Clay/AISD Communications Specialist
Athens High School students made a sweet noise Saturday at UIL Area Competition. Between band and choir, five students earned all-state honors.
In band, senior Gerardo Godinez was named first-chair tenor saxophone, junior Russell Ingram was named first-chair trumpet, and freshman Yuvia Leon was named second-chair flute. In choir, sophomore Jacob Moore was named first-chair bass, and sophomore Bethany Oglesby was named fifth-chair soprano. Ingram and Moore qualified for state last year as well.
To make it to the state level, band and choir students must make it through several rounds of competition. Of the 9,000 students who initially auditioned, only 290 were selected for the all-state band. And only 616 of the initial 64,000 students who auditioned were selected to perform as part of the all-state choir at the Texas Music Educators Association convention.
“We’re very proud of them,” said AHS Band Director Rusty Lay. “They all spent many hours before and after school to practice.”
AHS Choral Director Bridget Scott was equally pleased with her state qualifiers. “Bethany and Jacob did almost all of their practice and preparation outside of school hours,” she said. “They competed against the best of the best, and their hard work definitely paid off.”
There were also five band students selected as state alternates. They are junior Kolemann Dooley, senior Ben van der Colff, junior Jacob Ickes, freshman Allison Martinez and junior Brian Lookabaugh.
The all-state band and all-state choir will perform Feb. 13 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio at the Texas Music Educators Association’s annual convention.
In addition to Lay, other “Pride of the Hornets” band directors are Stephen Morman, Gehrig Blankenship and Robyn Blanchard.
