BROOKINGS – Three South Dakota State University students were among 91 students from 31 schools around the Midwest and southern Canada who performed in the 2020 North-Central Intercollegiate Honor Band Feb. 20-22 in Chicago at DePaul University.
The students were: Mary Ellen Kennedy, clarinet, senior music education major from Beresford; Julia Okerman, trumpet, senior music major from Fairmont, Minnesota; and William Reynolds, trumpet, sophomore music education major from Brookings.
Reynolds said he was thankful for the opportunity “because it allowed me to perform and learn from students at other universities and grow as a musician.”
The band, which was organized by the North-Central Region of the College Band Directors National Association, played four pieces in a one-hour concert under the direction of J. Eric Wilson, director of bands at Baylor University.
Students are nominated by their college band directors. After being selected to participate, students then auditioned for chair placement within the group at the conference.
The 2020 North-Central Intercollegiate Honor Band featured students from colleges and universities in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
