McNary High School has won the 6A state band championship – its first state title in that competition in the school’s 60-year history. The competition for the school’s wind ensemble was Saturday, May 16. In orchestra competition, the wind ensemble combined with McNary orchestra students to finish third. The wins follow state contests for individual students and ensembles in early May, in which two McNary students won their instrument categories and an ensemble placed second.  “McNary performed exceedingly well on Saturday and I’m so proud of these students,” according to Elizabeth Hering, band director. “This was the perfect culmination of many months of hard work in rehearsals, before school sectionals, and home practice.” The Celts were second in state band competition in 2019 and 2023. Hering noted that students prepared for the concert while balancing other activities and maintaining good attendance and grades. She said students needed to work as a team and encourage each other to perform at a high level.  Two other Salem-Keizer School District schools finished in the top five. West Salem High School tied for second and Sprague High School took fifth.  During the championships, students performed a 30-minute set for three collegiate-level judges from out of state. Each judged ranked the performance based on a rubric assessing sound quality, technique and other factors. Out of 100, McNary’s band earned scores of 93, 96 and 96.  Hering said students performed “Fantasia for Band” by Vittorio Giannini, “Musica Dei, donum optimi” by Joel Love, “Junkman’s Obbligato” by James David and “Paso Doble” by Alfred Reed. Students were also judged on sight reading. The musicians are given a sheet of music for a song they don’t know and had seven minutes to study it. Students then perform the piece unrehearsed, scored on discipline, accuracy of rhythm, notes and stylistic details. Students are judged on a 60-point scale for this event, and McNary received 56. McNary’s combined score was 341 – two points higher than the second-place score.  Hering described Saturday’s performance as the wind ensemble’s strongest performance she has seen since she became band director five years ago. She said the students played “beautifully” and confidently. “It almost didn’t feel like a contest to me, because they were playing so relaxed and free,” Hering said.  Qualifying for the state competition requires competing at qualifying festivals, Hering said. She said McNary received qualifying scores at qualifying festivals, finishing second in the Central Valley Conference competition. McNary submitted a taped audition and was one of 20 bands selected to perform at the 6A state competition. The bands were selected out of a total of 26 that were qualified to compete. McNary High School music students pose at the 6A state band championships, held Saturday, May 16. The wind ensemble won first place in the competition. (MCNARY HIGH SCHOOL photo) Student musicians Jan Andrew, Jayden Austin Cruz, Tyler Barker, Delilah Bohannan Tucker, Dillon Boland, Ezra Burroughs, Ally Castaneda, Jonas Castellano, Emma Correll,  Austen Damisch, Audrey Fleck, Daniel Flores Reyes, Elijah Geck, Michelle, Granillo Rodriguez, Mason Hague, Gabrielle Harris, Lilyann Kinkaid,  Rosemary Kirk, Kayson McCallister, Teagan McCarthy. Talia Mesecar, Gabriel Murga Chavez, Julian Patton, Cole Pedersen, Stella Pedersen, Benjamin Ruhr, Marco Saldana, Jr., Shane Scales, Zachery Scales, Mckenzie Small, Charles Stitt, Evan Struve, Susannah Tussing, Caleb Vaughn, Kinsley Villani, Sabrina Walker, Rogue Wells, Ryken Wells, Marin Williams, Austen Damisch. NEWS TIP? Contact reporter Krista Kroiss at [email protected]. News tip? Email [email protected]. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post McNary band wins state championship appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less