UCSD High School Band, courtesy of Jeff Dickrell

Two student musicians from Unalaska's High School Band traveled to Anchorage to take part in the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA) All-State Band. ASAA's All-State High School Music Festival was held in Anchorage on the weekend of November 21st-23rd. The students chosen to receive this honor were Connor McConnell on tuba and Virginia Mountain on bassoon. All-State Band is a prestigious event where students from across the state of Alaska submit audio applications of themselves performing difficult excerpts from music pieces. Judges then select the top performers for each instrument section and invite those students to come to Anchorage to create a band with the highest performing students from around the state. 

ASAA's mission statement for the event reads: "The existence of this Music Festival enables outstanding high school musicians to participate as members of a select statewide band, choral or orchestra music ensemble and promotes the highest standards of musicianship. It is the goal of this activity to foster and inspire technical achievement, aesthetic understanding, and critical listening skills that allow for the culmination of a final creative musical performance of the highest artistic level.”

Students in the All-State Music Festival perform after three days of intensive rehearsals with national conductors. This year, Dr. Eric Hammer from the Pacific Conservatory of Music conducted the All-State Band at West Anchorage High School. UCSD music director Kerry McNamara who trained and traveled with the students said, "They learned a great deal and put on a fantastic concert Saturday night, having spent only Thursday and Friday rehearsing the highly difficult music."

For community members interested in hearing and supporting our student musicians, Unalaska City School's winter band concert will be taking place on December 9th at 7 p.m. in the High School big gym.