County honor band taps talented students

The Pike All-County Honor Band will be in concert at 2 p.m. today at the Claudia Crosby Theater on the campus of Troy University. The concert is free and open to the public.

The band will feature 114 students from Charles Henderson, Goshen and Pike County high schools and Charles Henderson Middle School.

Kathy Lightfoot, CHHS band aide, said Pike All-County Honor Band members were selected through an audition process.

“These students are some of the best band students in the county and we are proud to be able to give them this opportunity to come together and work together as neighbors and musicians,” Lightfoot said. “This is the third Pike All-County Honor Band and each year has been a great success in the benefits that it affords the students. And, it is an opportunity for the community to hear these talented students in concert.”

Ray Smith, Troy University School of Music, is the conductor for the festival weekend.

Students who were selected to the Pike All-County Honor Band said their selection was an honor, a challenge and a springboard to their future.

Lynze Price, a senior at Goshen High School, plays the bassoon, which is a rather strange looking instrument.

“But it has an eight-octave range,” Price said, with a smile. “I started with a clarinet but switched. I like the way the bassoon sounds.”

Price said that the honor band gives her an opportunity to meet new friends who also enjoy band music.

“It’s a chance to play with different people and learn new music and it gives me a better idea of what it will be like to play in a community band,” Price said.

She will attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which has no band program. She plans to play with the community band at Daytona Beach.

Melanie Ford is a member of the CHMS band. Her parents are both musicians and band directors.

“I grew up with band music and it’s what I enjoy,” Ford said. “I wasn’t sure which instrument I wanted to play but, when I tried the French horn, I fell in love with it.

Ford said that she, too, appreciates the opportunity to play with different student musicians.

“It’s great practice and helps me prepare for other band camps,” she said.

Among Ford’s upcoming band camp opportunities are the All-State Band and the Western Canadian Youth Band.

Lauren Post, a junior at CHHS, laughingly, said that she chose the flute because it’s small and easy to carry.

Post said that she enjoys learning new music, especially the jazz medley that the Pike All-County Honor Band will play in today’s concert.

“I listen to NPR and I like classical music, too,” she said.

Post said that every opportunity she has to play music further prepares her for her career as a music educator.

Jared Guilford, a PCHS senior, plays percussion instruments and welcomes all opportunities to learn new music.

“Marches are tradition with marching band music and, with the marching band, you have to do five different things at one time,” he said laughing. “With concert band, you can sit down … and it’s inside.”

Guilford said being in the band has been a great benefit to him.

“Playing with new people and playing new pieces of music is always a good way to learn,” he said. “I think that all of us have learned a lot from being in the Pike All-County Honor Band. We appreciate the opportunity.”