All-State Band and All-State Orchestra is the highest honor a Georgia music student can receive, and this year a total of 39 band students and 18 orchestra students from Fayette’s middle and high schools have earned membership into the state’s elite music ensembles.
Students are required to pass two rigorous auditions before they are selected as members of the All-State Band or All-State Orchestra. The ensembles will perform March 3-5 at The Classic Center in Athens.
Fayette’s high schools had 29 band students pass the final auditions for All-State Band. The majority of these students are from McIntosh High (nine total) and Whitewater High (nine total, plus an alternate), a high number for any one school to achieve. Over 2,000 students from across the state auditioned to become a member of the band.
A total of nine middle school band students plus one alternate made the cut at the final All-State Middle School Band auditions.
Here is a list of the students by school.
Fayette County High: Roger Callison, alto saxophone; Kalli Edwards, bassoon; Derek Hornberger, trombone; Errol Rhoden, tuba; Will Talley, trombone; and Anthony Weaver, bassoon;.
McIntosh High: James Wang, bassoon; Rachel Anders, flute; Alisha Zamore, clarinet; Parker Olson, percussion; Daniel Dehan, percussion; Brooke Owen, oboe; Keba Simelane, trumpet; Steven Lukehart, trumpet; and Pearce Kramer, clarinet.
Starr’s Mill High: Will Sanders, trombone; Jocelyn Gao, flute; Adam Warner, percussion; and Claudia Wahoski, flute.
Whitewater High: Megan Castaneda, clarinet; Andrew Dallas, alto saxophone; Makenzie Hill, oboe; Joelle Hitechew, French horn; Nicholas Koenig, clarinet; Austin Newland, tuba; Varun Patel, French horn; Todd Perry, tuba; Leslie Sullivan, contra clarinet; and Elijah Tan (first alternate), oboe.
Flat Rock Middle: Reece Overholt, French horn; Spencer Hodge, French horn; Isaac Presberg, trombone; Daniel Chapadeau, percussion; and Camden Day, percussion.
J.C. Booth Middle: Grant Cho (alternate), oboe; (Whitewater Middle) Jameson Collins, trombone; Edward Huang, trumpet; Mason Rzepkowski, clarinet; and Ethan Handley, bassoon.
McIntosh High has 11 of the 13 students selected for All-State High School Orchestra: Kylie Dickinson, first violin; Kevin Kerner, first violin; Caroline Cameron, viola; Yuheon Lee, cello; Jesse Perry, bass; Mashu Takeda, first violin; Sei Ko, cello; Jefferson Downs, cello; Melina Le, cello; Marianne Richter, viola; and Jiaxing Liu, viola.
Sandy Creek High is represented by Emma Bryan (alternate), cello; and Whitewater High’s representative is Ryan Kontos, bass.
A total of five middle school orchestra students were accepted to the All-State Middle School Orchestra, including Keveen Campos of Bennett’s Mill Middle, viola. The other four are from J.C. Booth Middle: Irene Kwon, viola; Hojun Choi, cello; Min Ju Cho, cello; and Jennifer Deng, first violin.
