WHS student to perform with national ensemble

Contra-alto/contrabass clarinetist Leslie Sullivan has been selected as a member of the 2016 All National Honor Concert Band sponsored by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).

She is among 670 of the nation’s top student musicians who will perform in four ensembles, concert band, mixed choir, symphony orchestra and jazz Nov. 10-13 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.

The most elite musicians in the United States audition each year to become members of the ensembles. The concert band has approximately 150 instrumentalists.

Members perform under the baton of the most prominent conductors in the United States. Paula Crider, a Professor Emerita at the University of Texas, will lead the concert band. A tenured full professor at the University of Texas, Crider has conducted the symphony band, and was director of the acclaimed University of Texas Longhorn Band. During her 17-year tenure, she was twice accorded the “Eyes of Texas” Award for distinguished teaching.

Ensemble members participate in two rehearsals a day, and attend master classes and educational sessions.

Among the requirements needed to audition, students must have been accepted into their state’s 2015-16 All-State Festival, and receive an endorsement from their director.  Whitewater High Band Director Jack Jean says Sullivan is a talented musician who is very deserving of the honor to perform in this one-of-a-kind national program.

“This selection is a direct reflection of her dedication, hard work and commitment to musical excellence,” said Jean.