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 Gehlen Catholic Schools students selected for the 28th Annual Buena Vista University Honor Band Festival, are back row (from left) -- Shelby Puhl and Elias Niebuhr. Front row -- Elisabeth Niebuhr, Kellen Nilles, Hannah Kessenich, Michelle Klein. Not pictured -- Josh Schreiner. [Click to enlarge] |
The following students from Le Mars Community Middle School have been selected to perform in the festival: Ben Meis, oboe; Yashila Permeswaran, bassoon; Emily Ellefson, clarinet; Zach Kooistra, trumpet; Rodrigo Cobian, trumpet; Evan Richards, trombone; Karter Ewing, trombone; Tim Fett, baritone and Rebecca Luksan, percussion. Their band director is Mary Kay Benton.
Gehlen Catholic students selected to perform are: senior, Elias Niebuhr, trumpet and junior, Josh Schreiner, tenor saxophone, for the high school honor band; Hannah Kessenich and Kellen Nilles, second clarinet; Michelle Klein, first alto saxophone; Shelby Puhl, second trombone, and Elisabeth Niebuhr, tuba, were selected for the junior high honor band.
 Nine Le Mars Community Middle School band students will be part of the BVU Honor Band Festival 6:30 p.m. Saturday, selected on the basis of nomination by their band director. Front: Ben Meis, Rebecca Luksan, Yashila Permeswaran, Emily Ellefson. Back: Zach Kooistra, Rodrigo Cobian, Karter Ewing, Evan Richards and Tim Fett. [Click to enlarge] |
Thirty school districts are participating in this years festival that include schools from Iowa and Nebraska.
Students will gather on the Buena Vista University campus on Saturday for two 3-hour rehearsals with the guest conductors. Both bands will perform a grand finale concert at Schaller Memorial Chapel on the BVU campus at 6:30 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public.
Guest conductors for the 2009 Honor Band Festival will be Dr. Larry Mitchell for the high school honor band and Barbara Wells for the middle school honor band. The finale concert is open to the public and admission is free.
Mitchell is music professor emeritus at The University of South Dakota after have been the Director of Bands there for 32 years. Before coming to USD, Mitchell taught public school instrumental music, fifth through 12th grades at Rock Valley from 1961-1966. He attended the University of Iowa where he was a teaching assistant in the low brass studio and also served as a graduate assistant with the University of Iowa bands (1966-1968).
While at Iowa, Mitchell served as assistant director of the University of Iowa Summer Music Camps. In 1968 Mitchell returned to public school teaching and taught grade 5 and 10-12 instrumental music at Humboldt. In the fall of 1970 he was appointed Assistant Director of Bands and Professor of Low Brass at Central Missouri State University where he served from 1970 until 1973.
In the fall of 1973, Mitchell returned to the University of South Dakota as Professor of Low Brass and Assistant Director of Bands. During his tenure at USD; Dr. Mitchell served as Director of the USD Marching Coyotes, the USD Jazz Ensembles, the USD Wind Ensemble, and the USD Symphonic Band.
Mitchell is actively involved in trombone performance with the Sioux City Symphony and the Symphony Brass Quintet. Mitchell became the conductor of the Sioux City Municipal Band in June of 2003 where he serves as conductor and music director for an 8-week summer season. Mitchell remains active within the quad-state region as an adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor for honor bands and festivals.
Wells is currently in her eighth year as a music education teacher in the Storm Lake Community School district, where she teaches woodwind lessons, directs the fifth and sixth grade bands, and assists with the seventh-eighth and the high school bands. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa with a degree in music education and clarinet performance. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Wells is active in Lakeside Presbyterian Church, where she is the organist, director of the Chancel Choir, and director of the PreK-8th grade music program. She is also a member of the Cherokee Symphony.
Wells served the Northwest Iowa Bandmasters Association as president in 1999-2000 and in 2001-2002 and created and maintained the district website for many years. She was the recipient of the NWIBA Karl King Distinguished Service Award-Active in 2004.