Honors Band is comprised of students from across the state who have displayed great skill in their school ensemble.  This year’s concert for Mayfield’s District will be held February 28. 

Honors band consists of students from multiple schools and districts of Ohio. Last year’s students from Mayfield Middle School were Xavier Lavrich, Peter Wilde and Ellen Zhang. This year’s selection of students is, for the second time Lavrich and Wilde, and new students Alaina Ley and Kate Zako. 

The students get music prior to playing together, in order to prepare. Then, a few days before the concert, all of the students come together during the school day and practice together for one full day of preparation. 

Last year’s selection consisted of five songse: “In Darkest Night” (Barry E Kopetz), “Three Concert Fanfares” (Samuel R Hazo), “Courage March” (Harold Bennett), “Pevensey Castle” (Robert Sheldon) and “Prospect” (Pierre La Plante). The students spend a lot of time learning and perfecting the music.

This year’s selection has six songs. The songs are “Gateway Mach” (Eric Olserling), “To Honor, Thank, And Remember” (Michael Story), “Forging Swords” (Jason Nippert), “Portrait Of A Clown” (Frank Ticheli), “Monster Under The Bed” (Robert Sheldon) and finally, “In The Bleak Mid-Winter” (Gustov Holst).

Honors Band can be seen as difficult because the students have to practice music for their school’s own symphonic band along with the Honors Band. The music is meant to challenge the students and to encourage them to learn more about music.

OMEA’s website notes that it “advocates for comprehensive music programs in general, instrumental, and vocal music education; state and national music standards with assessments to ensure that students meet high academic expectations.” The website included, “The Ohio Music Education Association believes that all students should have equal access to high quality music instruction.”

Michael Palermo, who has been a band director at Mayfield since 1999, shared, “Myself and a lady by the name of Shane Ellsworth are the originators of middle school honors band. Back in 1996 when she taught at Newberry and I was at Chardon we started that, and it continued for a while. Then, there was a time where it fazed out. Chardon took it for a few years, then Mentor took over because of their fine arts facility.”

Describing the nomination process, Palermo explained, “I nominated 12 kids and what they do in District 7 in Mentor is they put it in a pool and base it off of how the director recommends. In the end they come up with a mixture of students.” 

Reflecting on last year’s Honors Band experience, Wilde said, “I liked learning multiple songs and getting better at my instrument. The food they supplied was also very good. The music was great; when it was all put together it was amazing. The staff and other students greeted me nicely. I didn’t feel lost because I was given good instruction. The facility was high end. It looked nice and had enough space for all of us. This one will be fun, especially because I switched to saxophone.”

New addition Ley said, “I am excited, but I am also a little nervous because I have never done honors band before” She also stated that she felt confident about her abilityt to play this year’s music and that she looks forward to hearing the music once all of the instruments are together.

Kate Zako also noted her excitement: “I get to go with my friends and I also get to meet new people.”  To prepare for playing the six pieces of music, Zako shared that she looked the songs up on YouTube and printed them out to start practicing.  When asked what the hardest song was Zako said, “Probably the ‘Gateway March’ because it was all ⅛ notes because it’s harder to tongue and harder to play because there’s nowhere to breathe.”

From my own experience as a trumpet player for honors band, the experience is really fun. The music was really challenging at first, but over time, like all things, it became easier. My favorite piece was “In Darkest Night.”  It sounds amazing. Barry E. Kopetz, guest conductor, did a great job composing the song. 

During practice he said he based it off a book he wrote. The song was meant to be full of emotion and mystery. The song begins by leading the listener in slowly. Then it switches to a faster pace. The song was put together beautifully, and had many parts going at once. The song is beautiful but also very challenging. Koptetz has made more than 60 songs after traveling around the world. 

The song I struggled with the most would probably be “Courage March.” All of the half notes and different techniques confused me. I have gotten better, mostly because of the honors band. It has really helped me become a better player. I am really looking forward to the second honors band.

This year is different, though. I am a lot more confident with my playing and I feel like I will do better. My favorite song so far is probably “Forging Swords” and the song I struggled most with is probably “Portrait Of A Clown.”

In conclusion, everyone seems excited and is looking forward to the concert. All of the students look forward to strengthening their musical abilities and getting to enjoy the fun experience of Honors Band.

2024 OMEA Middle School Honors Band Concert