On January 18, Shepherd University held their 20th annual Honor Music Festival. A number of Linganore High School (LHS) students were selected to participate over the weekend, among a total of 163 students from various schools in Maryland and West Virginia.
These students include Juniors Emily Eldridge, Nora Lindstrom and Ava Williamson and Senior Luke Hahn, who were members of the Honor Wind Ensemble, and Seniors Emerson Berry and Ethan Koerber and Junior Alex Pietanza, who all participated in the Honor Jazz Ensemble.
The concert took place Saturday, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Frank Arts Center Theater, but the preparations began earlier.
Students arrived at the college the evening of January 17 for their first night of practice. This practice consisted mainly of run-throughs to pick the pieces that the musicians played best.
After a night of rest, the musicians would typically wake up ready for a full day of practice. However, due to the snow forecasted for Sunday, the original date of the concert, the performance was moved to Saturday evening.
“It puts a lot of pressure on us because we have less time to perform the music you’re already learning in a weekend,” LHS senior Luke Hahn said.
The initial setup of the weekend was already a challenge, but the inclement weather made it even more so. Between the two days, students had approximately only one full day to perfect their pieces for performance.
Since the event is an honor band, the music they are learning is also notably more challenging than the pieces they would typically play for their school’s band, hence the requirement of a nomination from Linganore’s band director, Kevin Lloyd, to participate.
While students are acclimated to the conducting style of Lloyd, for the festival, they must get used to other conducting styles in order to be successful.
The Honor Wind Ensemble, who performed first, was conducted by guest conductor Dr. Susan Creasap and Shepherd conductor Dr. Scott Hippensteel.
This was followed by the Honor Choir, who were directed by guest conductor Dr. Jill Campbell and Shepherd conductor Dr. Jason Strunk.
The last to perform were the Honor Jazz Ensemble, which was directed by guest conductor Dr. Euan Edmonds and Shepherd conductor Dr. Kurtis Adams.
The concert consisted of many lively and varied performances of some recognizable pieces, such as “West Side Story.”
When the concert came to a close, the musicians and family members that stayed with them in nearby hotels were finally able to head home from the West Virginia college.
Despite the weekend being over, the experience still remains in the musicians’ hearts and they look forward to more such opportunities in the future.
“If there’s any other students in performing arts that have an option to come to do one of these honor bands or university honor festivals, take it,” Hahn said. “It’ll be well worth it.”
For the full program and more information on the directors, click here.