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Greality: Severance Middle School musicians best in the stateSEVERANCE, Feb 24, 2013 (Greeley Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Four students at Severance Middle School are among the best musicians in the state, and they'll display their talents on one special night at the University of Colorado Boulder. Eighth-graders Maria D'Rosario (tuba), Trent Dilka (euphonium), Eric Kreager (percussion) and Holli Young (clarinet) became the first students at Severance to be named to the CU Honor Band, which is on the same par as making all-state band for middle-schoolers. They were chosen as part of 115 students from across the state. Students from 40 middle schools were chosen. Britt Forman, band director at Severance, said being named to the CU Honor Band is a huge accomplishment. The students will rehearse Friday and Saturday with guest conductors Matthew Roeder, associate director of bands and assistant professor of music at CU, and Jason Missal, a CU graduate who is associate director of bands at Abilene Christian University in Texas. They'll perform Saturday night at the Macky Auditorium Concert Hall on the CU campus. The four students had to audition for the spots in the band, and they submitted tapes by playing two short pieces of music for the audition. "Middle school students from across the state audition to be in this group every year," Forman said. "It's pretty awesome. This is the first year I ever had anybody audition." Holli said she's practiced a long time to reach this level. "It's the highlight for me, and one of the best things that's happened," Holli said. "I've been practicing forever." Eric said it's "extremely cool" being named to the CU Honor Band. "I think it's going to be a great experience," Eric said. "Not everybody gets to experience it, so I'm going to give it my best and really go for it." Eric said it will be interesting playing with other students from around the state. "I think I'll be a little nervous at first. We all try out for it and we might sound really good," Eric said. "This a great eye-opening experience." Maria is the only tuba player who was selected for the CU Honor Band. Maria started playing the trumpet as a sixth-grader in middle school, so she got a late start playing the tuba. "I haven't been playing my instrument for as long as the rest of the band has," Maria said. "It's very cool especially because I'm the only tuba player, and it's just an honor. What it's saying is that I'm the best tuba player in Colorado who tried out. I put a lot of hard work into that because I had to catch up with the rest of the band." Trent, whose euphonium resembles a smaller version of the tuba, is one of two students playing the euphonium in the CU Honor Band. "I think it's a really good experience because you really get to see a lot of diversity, different techniques and knowing that you made it because of all the hard work you put in," Trent said. "It's going to be kind of a big band, and it's going to be like the top of the line for Colorado middle school bands. I think it's going to sound like one of the best performances I've ever been in." Trent said he puts a lot of work in playing the euphonium. "I played the piano before I played the euphonium, and once I started playing the euphonium I kind of stopped playing the piano because I really liked it," Trent said. Forman said it's special that the four students will have the opportunity to play with other kids from around the state. "It's cool that they get to go out and see what other musicians have been doing around the state," Forman said. "I'm very excited for them. I think it's a huge honor." ___ (c)2013 the Greeley Tribune (Greeley, Colo.) Visit the Greeley Tribune (Greeley, Colo.) at www.greeleytribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |