Congratulations to senior Sophie Maxwell, who was accepted into this elite ensemble. She will perform four songs with the MSBOA All-State Band January 21, 2023 at DeVos Place. There is an intense audition process to earn a spot on this stage; there are approximately 2500 students who audition for about 400 seats that make up five ensembles. “I wanted to audition for this because my friends and mentors told me I had a good chance this year and I knew that it would be a great opportunity to improve my playing,” Maxwell says. 

The MSBOA website explains that students must prepare an etude, a series of scales and sight-read during each 10-minute recorded audition. The auditions are only by number, no name or school identification is on it. Judges evaluate each audition and place them in an order; the ensembles are then filled with the required number of each instrument. Maxwell earned the 6th chair out of 10 for the High School Band Ensemble. “I was so shocked when I saw the results, I was overfilled with excitement and am really looking forward to going,” she says. “I am most excited about playing alongside the top high school musicians in the state and making new friends.”

Her ensemble will play four songs on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 10:15am at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids. 

The other three students accepted into the All-State Band were Ryan Piersma, Caleb Piersma, and Madison Kroes. The MSBOA All-State program was established in the 2005-06 school year.