A record 28 musicians earned chairs in All-West Tennessee bands and orchestras, and another two received alternate status. This surpasses last year’s record of 25 musicians and three alternates. Additionally, eight students qualified for All-State honors.
Eleven of the 16 students earning chairs in the bands were assigned to the Blue Band, the top band for their ensembles. Seven earned 1st chair, the highest rank in their ensembles, and six others earned 5th chair or higher.
The West Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association, an affiliate with the National Association for Music Education, hosted auditions for the bands January 15 and the orchestras November 20. Students receiving the honor have the opportunity to attend a clinic at Renasant Convention Center and perform in a concert held at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, home to the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.
11-12 Symphony Orchestra
Samuel Lim ’22, 24th chair violin
Frederick Huang ’23, 6th chair violin*
Jeffrey Liu ’23, 2nd chair clarinet
9-10 Honors String Orchestra
Gabe Chen ’24, 1st chair violin*
Evan Wu ’24, 1st chair viola*
Michael Liu ’25, 10th chair violin*
9-10 Blue Band
Dannie Dong ’24, 1st chair percussion*
Joel Lim ’24, 1st chair oboe*
Henry Lindeman ’24, 6th chair trombone
Parth Patel ’24, 17th chair clarinet
Eshaan Patnaik ’24, 2nd chair clarinet*
Alan Zhou ’24, 11th chair flute
Luke Akers ’25, 22nd chair clarinet
Alan Cheng ’25, 1st chair trombone
Diego Guerrero Viloria ’25, 4th chair euphonium*
9-10 Red Band
Sai Madasu ’24, 4th chair bass clarinet
Joey Paul ’25, 4th chair clarinet
Alex Yong ’25, 6th chair alto saxophone
Middle School Orchestra
Bill Chiang ’26, 1st chair violin
Henry Phan ’26, 38th chair violin
Andrew Zhou ’26, 7th chair viola
Will Brezina ’27, 40th chair violin
Ryo Kimura ’27, 10th chair violin
William Warmath ’27, 9th chair violin
Middle School Blue Band
Joshua Gramm ’26, 2nd chair alto saxophone
Lucas Zhang ’26, 1st chair clarinet
Middle School Red Band
Addy Ramakrishnan ’26, 12th chair trombone
Sohum Verma ’26, 18th chair clarinet
Alternates
Wilson Pace ’26, 3rd alternate alto saxophone, Middle School Band
Sohum Valaulikar ’26, 1st alternate oboe, Middle School Band
*All-State honors