January 9, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
Three members of the award winning DeKalb County High School Fighting Tiger Band, Axel Rico, Javontae Martin, and Victor Luna have earned All Mid State Band honors.
Mid-State is a weekend event held each Spring that provides an opportunity for the best musicians of Middle Tennessee to perform with one another in large ensembles. Each Mid-State ensemble will prepare and perform a concert with just a few short rehearsals.
To make the Mid-State Band or Orchestra, students must go through the audition process in the Fall, which includes three parts: scales, prepared music, and sight reading. The highest scored musicians in each section are selected to be a member of the Mid-State Band or Orchestra, with the top few high school musicians from each section qualifying for All-State. This is a tremendous opportunity for students as it prepares and propels them toward post secondary musical experiences.
Martin, Rico, and Luna performed outstanding auditions for adjudication from specialists in their respective instrument families, alto and tenor saxophone.
“Axel Rico auditioned and was awarded 1st alternate for the silver All Mid state Band. He is the first call if someone cannot make it or gets ill. He was chosen from dozens of 11th and 12th grade superior alto saxophone performers from the mid state,” said DCHS band director Tracy Luna.
“Javontae Martin, alto saxophone, performed a very high scoring audition. Javontae was 16th out of almost 60 players! A very good showing for a freshman performer,” added Luna.
“Auditioning and being selected in his third midstate band was Victor Luna. Victor successfully auditioned for the top band and was awarded second chair tenor saxophone, one chair away from his first all state experience. Sophomore Luna has two more years to shoot for all state,” Luna continued.
“I am proud of each student that auditioned and the accomplishments and strides each has made this last year,” said Luna.