Last Saturday, dozens of HHS students auditioned for a spot in the selective Senior District honor band, orchestra, or chorus, and 17 musicians made it with 11 being recommended to audition at the all-state level! It took many hours of hard work and preparation to make this festival so please congratulate any and all of these students when given the chance: Reese Warshaw, Ethan Wahrhaftig, Casey Salerno, Nicholas Roche, Zakary Robbins, Anthony Ricci, Azariah Price, Nina Murphy, Jacob Lewack, Audrey Jones, Alexa Harris, Tori Dell, Ben Cavallo-Smith, Ruby Blake, Graeme Baker, Henry Ader, and Eric Alexander. The festival is in January. 

In preparation for the audition, students had to prepare to play all 12 major scales even though they would only play two during the actual audition. In addition to scales, they also had to master the difficult piece that was assigned with an extra sight-reading portion. It was a challenging task, but it surely paid off. Just ask sophomore alto saxophonist Casey Salerno. “I am really happy that I got in, it took lots of time and effort but it’s definitely going to be worth it. Although I didn’t get the all state rec, I am still proud of myself, and I am super happy for everyone who made it.” Casey will be performing with the concert band in January, and students are encouraged to attend if they have the time. The concert will also be available on live stream via Zoom if that is more schedule friendly. 

A big thanks to Mr. Cincotta and Mr. Landice for all the help with preparing the students for the audition. They were instrumental in the success seen at the audition, and their hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed. Although she did not partake in the audition, Ava Halsing is still endlessly grateful for Mr. Cincotta’s support. “I just wanted to thank you for being a good teacher and person in my life. You have made band something to look forward to every day by surrounding me and others with good people to hang out with and talk to. You always challenge me, and I just wanted to say thank you.”