Mt. Pleasant Community School District Students make SEIBA Honor Bands

MT. PLEASANT - Twelve Mt. Pleasant Community School District students will be making their way to Iowa City next Wednesday to perform as part of the Southeast Iowa Bandmasters Association (SEIBA) Honor Bands.

The students, six high schoolers and six middle schoolers, were selected for the districtwide band after auditioning for judges from the association. 7th through 12th-graders from across the southeastern part of the state, as far west as Ottumwa and far east as Quad Cities, audition for highly-competitive positions in the junior high or high school honor bands in late-January.

In getting selected for the band, students will have an opportunity to meet the best student musicians from the region and work with guest directors at a five-hour rehearsal before performing for an audience on Feb. 5 at Iowa City West High School. This year, one of the directors is also the composer for a piece the students will be playing.

From the middle school, seventh-grader Tarynn Dascher was selected for the honor band, alongside eighth-graders Madison Helling, Elaina Holtkamp, Gabby Perez, Jolynn Keomanivong and Nate Stroud.

Playing for the band will be a first-time experience for all the middle schoolers except Holtkamp and Perez.

'I think I'm going to learn my instrument better,” Helling said. 'I just love playing music.”

Adam Creager, the middle school band director, said nine students from his class auditioned this year. Usually the school averages about three to four students who get selected for the band.

'This is a banner year for us,” Creager said.

The music teacher said his students begin working on auditions two-and-a-half months out, memorizing ten scales and learning two selections for their auditions.

'It's kind of like making all-state in middle school. It's a big deal. There's a ton of work that goes on behind the scenes. There are hours of practice and their dedication speaks volumes to their integrity as people,” he said.

From the high school, 9th grader Brandon Burtlow, 10th-grader Anya Clark, 11th-graders Luke Ryon and Kionna Parrish as well as 12th-graders Claire Holtkamp and Annika Rynders also will be making their way to Iowa City next Wednesday.

'You're with a bunch of really good musicians and everyone pays attention,” Rynders said about what she enjoys about going to all-state. This will be the senior's seventh year participating in the honors band.

'To make it is to say you're the best of the best … it's kind of a challenge for yourself to see how much you can do and how much you can grow,” she said.