Cary Academy students selected to the
All-District Bands
1998-Present
| High School All-District
Band 1998-2004 |
Middle School All-District
Band 1999-2005 |
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| David Johnson Percussion 1998 |
Adam Pederson Tenor Saxophone 2001 |
Zack Hobbs String Bass 2003 |
Jordan Mitchell Baritone Sax 1999 |
Eric Smith Horn 2001 |
Vann Mitchell Clarinet 2004 |
|
| David Johnson Percussion 1999 |
Katy Rosenbaum Horn 2001 |
Adam Pederson Tenor Saxophone 2003 |
Ali Mortensen Trumpet 1999 |
Rob Smithson Clarinet 2001 |
Brett Scott Percussion 2004 |
|
| David Johnson Percussion 2000 |
Roger Shaw Clarinet 2001 |
Roger Shaw Clarinet 2003 |
Will Andrus Trombone 2000 |
Paul Laurent Euphonium 2002 |
Tyler Hartsfield Trumpet 2005 |
|
| Holmes Merritt Tuba 2000 |
Megann Vaughn Clarinet 2001 |
Eric Smith Horn 2003 |
Adam Pederson Tenor Saxophone 2000 |
Cameron O'Connor Euphonium 2002 |
Matt Makansi Clarinet 2005 |
|
| Jordan Mitchell Tenor Saxophone 2000 |
Lorraine Bailey Clarinet 2002 |
Rob Smithson Clarinet 2003 |
Roger Shaw Clarinet 2000 |
Joelle Portzer Trumpet 2002 |
Ben Vig Alto Sax 2005 |
|
| Megann Vaughn Clarinet 2000 |
Zack Hobbs String Bass 2002 |
Zack Hobbs String Bass 2004 |
Paul Laurent Euphonium 2001 |
Rob Smithson Clarinet 2002 |
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| David Johnson Percussion 2001 |
Adam Pederson Tenor Saxophone 2002 |
Joelle Portzer Trumpet 2004 |
Ryan Miller Clarinet 2001 |
Saige Clark Clarinet 2003 |
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| Jordan Mitchell Tenor Saxophone 2001 |
Roger Shaw Clarinet 2002 |
Roger Shaw Clarinet 2004 |
Cameron O'Connor Euphonium 2001 |
Lauren Phipps Alto Saxophone 2003 |
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| Eric Smith Horn 2004 |
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| High School
All-District Band 2005 - present |
Middle School
All-District Band 2006 - present |
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| Vann Mitchell Clarinet 2005 |
Peter McNeill Bass Clarinet 2007 |
Emilie Chen Clarinet 2006 |
Emilie Chen Clarinet 2007 |
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| Amelia Niemi Flute 2005 |
Melissa Geiss Flute 2006 |
Trevor Pearce Clarinet 2007 |
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| Joelle Portzer Trumpet 2005 |
Patrick Kenna Alto Sax 2006 |
Alex Ade Percussion 2008 |
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| Eric Smith Horn 2005 |
Matt Makansi Clarinet 2006 |
Ryan Cinoman Oboe 2008 |
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| Rob Smithson Clarinet 2005 |
Trevor Pearce Clarinet 2006 |
Alex Coeytaux Alto Sax 2008 |
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| Vann Mitchell Clarinet 2006 |
Ben Vig Alto Sax 2006 |
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| Peter McNeill Bass Clarinet 2006 |
Brandon Wilson Percussion 2006 |
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2007
Congratulations to:
Peter McNeill ('09),
Emilie Chen ('11), and Trevor Pearce ('11)
who were selected to the 2007 All-District Band!
Emilie is also eligible to audition for the All-State Band on March 3!
The Auditions
January 6, 2007
Southwest Guilford High School - High Point, NC
| First Name | Last Name | Instrument | Level | Grade | Result |
| Melissa | Geiss | Flute | MS | 9 | Placed among top 15 9th grade Flutes |
| Matt | Makansi | Clarinet | MS | 9 | 3rd Alternate for 9-10 Wind Ensemble, placed among top 10 9th grade Clarinets |
| Peter | McNeil | Bass Clarinet | HS | 10 | 5th Chair 9-12 Symphonic Band |
| Shelby | Neaville | Flute | MS | 9 | Placed among top 15 9th grade Flutes |
| Emilie | Chen | Clarinet | MS | 8 | 3rd Chair Symphonic Band and eligible to audition for the All-State Band! |
| Ryan | Cinoman | Oboe | MS | 7 | 1st Alternate - top scoring 7th grade Oboe and placed among top 5 overall |
| Alex | Coeytaux | Alto Sax | MS | 7 | Placed among top 5 7th grade Alto Saxophones |
| Laura | James | Flute | MS | 7 | Placed among top 15 7th grade flutes |
| Trevor | Pearce | Clarinet | MS | 8 | 7th Chair Concert Band |
| Harrison | Wicker | Snare Drum | MS | 7 | Placed among top 10 7th grade snare drums |
| Matt | Williams | Snare Drum | MS | 7 | Placed among top 10 7th grade snare drums |
2006
Congratulations to:
Vann Mitchell (08),
Peter McNeil (09), Melissa Geiss (10), Patrick Kenna (10),
Matt Makansi
(10), Brandon Wilson (10), Benjamin Vig (10),
Emilie Chen (11), and Trevor
Pearce (11) who were selected to the 2006 All-District Band!
The Performance Weekends
HS - January 27-28,
2006 at UNC-CH
MS - February 3-4, 2006 at Asheboro HS
Public, Private, or Home-schooled students from throughout NC who auditioned for and were selected to the All-State Honors Band participated in the performance weekend. Music was mailed to students a few weeks before the event so they could practice on their own. After only 2 days of rehearsals together with outstanding guest conductors, the students presented a spectacular concert on Saturday. Details and recordings (WMA files - download to listen) of the performances are below.
| MS All-District Concert Band |
MS All-District Symphonic Band |
HS All-District 9-12 Symphonic Band |
HS All-District 9-10 Wind Ensemble |
| Jim Smisek, conductor Newark HS - Delaware |
David Deese, conductor East Davidson HS - Thomasville, NC |
Tony Robinson, conductor Wakefield MS - Raleigh (formerly at Cary HS) |
David Kish, conductor Metropolitan State College - Denver, CO |
| Valdres | Two Celtic Folksongs | A Festival Prelude | Alpina Saga |
| A Childhood Hymn * | Longford Legend, 1 2 3 | Spirit of the Falcon | Near Woodstock Town |
| Great Locomotive Chase * | March to the Scaffold | Simple Gifts | Japanese Tune |
| Portrait of a Clown | Salvation is Created | Ride | Crusade for Freedom |
| Sounds of Sousa | Cures of Tutenkhamun | Dance of the Jesters | |
| Sing for Amercia |
* also performed by the 05-06 Cary Academy MS Band
The Auditions
January 7, 2006
Southwest
Guilford High School - High Point, NC
Public, Private, or Home-schooled students from Central NC were eligible to audition for All-District Band. The audition consisted of learning a very challenging solo piece, memorizing and playing 7 or 8 major scales with arpeggios, and also sight-reading a piece of music students had never seen.
The Central District runs basically from Wake County to Guilford County (Greensboro/High Point) and represents hundreds of public and private middle or high schools and tens of thousands of band students. Simply by preparing for and performing the audition, students have set themselves in the top 5-10% of students in the District who play the same instrument, regardless of whether or not they have been selected to be in a band.
This year Cary Academy placed 9 students in one of the All-District Bands - 7 middle school students and 2 upper school students. Among independent schools, only Ravenscroft placed more students than Cary Academy this year. 68 Cary Academy Band students have been selected to All-District Band since 1998, when David Johnson was the first to earn the honor.
2006 Audition Results
| First Name | Last Name | Instrument | Level | Grade | Result |
| Thomas | Kenna | Trumpet | HS | 9 | Placed among top 20 9th grade trumpets |
| Peter | McNeil | Bass Clarinet | HS | 9 | 4th Chair 9-12 Symphonic Band |
| Vann | Mitchell | Clarinet | HS | 10 | 5th Chair 9-10 Wind Ensemble. Eligible to audition for All-State Band. |
| Sonja | Thalheimer | Flute | HS | 9 | Placed among top 15 9th grade flutes |
| Emilie | Chen | Clarinet | MS | 7 | 9th Chair Symphonic Band |
| Austin | Crockett | Trumpet | MS | 8 | Missed by only 4 points! Placed among top 25 8th grade trumpets |
| Melissa | Geiss | Flute | MS | 8 | 4th Chair Concert Band |
| Matt | Hamm | Snare Drum | MS | 8 | Placed among top 15 8th grade snare drums |
| Patrick | Kenna | Alto Sax | MS | 8 | 2nd Chair Concert Band |
| Andrew | Kramer | Trumpet | MS | 7 | Placed among top 35 7th grade trumpets |
| Harry | Lambert | Trumpet | MS | 7 | Placed among top 30 7th grade trumpets |
| Matt | Makansi | Clarinet | MS | 8 | 11th Chair Symphonic Band |
| Shelby | Neaville | Flute | MS | 8 | Placed among top 25 8th grade flutes |
| Trevor | Pearce | Clarinet | MS | 7 | 13th Chair Symphonic Band |
| Jason | Sigmon | Oboe | MS | 8 | Placed among top 15 8th grade oboes |
| Ben | Vig | Alto Sax | MS | 8 | 1st Chair Symphonic Band. Eligible to audition for All-State Band. |
| Kenan | Webb | Trombone | MS | 7 | Placed among top 25 7th grade trombones |
| Brandon | Wilson | Mallets | MS | 8 | Placed among top 10 8th grade mallets |
| Brandon | Wilson | Timpani | MS | 8 | 1st Chair Concert Band |
| Evan | Zayas | Trumpet | MS | 7 | Placed among top 10 7th grade trumpets |
Explanation of Results
Students listed as "... chair" were selected to a band. 1st chair is the top scoring player on a specific instrument. Students listed as "placed among" were not selected to a band. Their results are compared to other students in the same grade who play the same instrument.
The High School (HS) 9-10 Wind Ensemble is comprised of the highest scoring 9th-10th grade players on each instrument. The HS 9-12 Symphonic Band is comprised of the next highest scoring 9th-12th grade players on each instrument, regardless of grade. Anywhere from 1 to 20 students per instrument are selected to each band, depending on the the instrument. Students selected to one of the HS All-District Bands will participate in the performance weekend, January 27-28 at UNC in Chapel Hill, NC. After less than 2 days of rehearsal, they will perform a truly inspiring concert Saturday evening.
The Middle School (MS) Symphonic Band is comprised of the highest scoring 6th-8th grade players on each instrument. The MS Concert Band is comprised of the next highest scoring 6th-8th grade players on each instrument. Anywhere from 1 to 20 students per instrument are selected to each band, depending on the the instrument. Students selected to one of the MS All-District Bands will participate in the performance weekend, February 3-4 at Asheboro HS in Asheboro, NC. After less than 2 days of rehearsal, they will perform a fantastic concert Saturday afternoon.