Red Bay band boasts Honor Band members
Photo by Brandi Miller
Ethan Ray, Eliza Williams, Kyle Hawkins, Harlee Brewer and Anna Jackson were the five band members who participated in honor band.
By Brandi Miller for the FCT
Five members of the Red Bay High School marching band were recently accepted to participate in the Northwest Alabama Honor Band at Russellville High School in mid-January.
Ethan Ray, Eliza Williams, Kyle Hawkins, Harlee Brewer and Anna Jackson were the five band members who participated in honor band. The auditions were open to any band member, and in total eight tried out.
“I made lots of friends,” said first time honor band member Brewer. “The trip was a good experience, and I will never forget my first trip going to honor band.”
During the audition process, the RBHS band members competed with students from Fayette, Lamar, Lawrence, Marion and Winston counties and other band students in Franklin County. The audition consisted of six musical scales, a play-through of an original piece that the band member worked on prior to the audition and a sight-reading exercise.
“The sight-reading exercise is a piece the judges select at random for you to play,” said honor band member Anna Jackson.
After the audition, the band members are allowed to eat lunch while awaiting the results of the audition. Once they found out the results, those who made honor band were told their chair placement and whether they would be in concert band or symphonic band, followed by four hours of practice.
“The hardest part of the day for me would definitely have to be those last few moments before you enter the audition room,” said Jackson. “Auditions are the scariest part of any honor band. You are constantly overthinking everything, and it is truly a make or break moment.”
The honor band members all agreed that the first few minutes of rehearsal with the band is the most fun part of the day.
“The Northwest Alabama Honor Band was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot also,” said Hawkins. “I will try to go to future honor bands to learn more and more.”
