Last month three talented seniors from Beaver Area High School’s band program participated in the annual Honors Band program hosted at Westminster College.

Rebecca Mizer, Shannon Witkouski, and Ciana Novak were accepted into the ensemble after submitting video auditions of them playing pre-selected pieces. This audition process differed slightly from last year’s, as fewer students were being admitted into the program.

This was Witkouski’s first year performing in-person at Honors Band. Although she was in the program last year, the 2020 honors concert was performed virtually. Mizer has been part of the program for all four years of her high school career, and Novak has been in the program since her sophomore year of high school.

For this year’s concert, Witkouski played first chair percussion, performing on a range of instruments such as the marimba, xylophone, timpani, snare, suspended cymbal, and gong.

Mizer performed with her primary instrument, the clarinet.

Novak played her preferred instrument, the euphonium.

“Although I started out on trumpet in the fifth grade,” Novak shared, “I love the beautiful sound of the euphonium.”

The concert itself was an incredible experience for all of the participants.

Witkouski felt her first live honors band concert met the expectations she had going in.

“My expectation going into Honors Band for the first time [live] was that the pieces would be difficult, and I was right. The concert was great overall, but it was rough at certain points."

Mizer stated, “The concert did meet and exceed all of my expectations; all of the pieces selected this year were very difficult, but our guest conductor was great and helped guide us through each piece. He not only taught us the music but the meaning behind each one, so we were playing more than what was on the page. This was by far my favorite concert program I’ve performed.”

One of the pieces the students played, Dream, was composed by guest conductor Dr. Adam F. Brennan himself.

“It was interesting to hear the story and meaning behind his piece,” Novak explained.

Dr. Brennan is Director of Bands at Mansfield University.

For any students thinking of auditioning for the program next year, these seniors would recommend it.

“I cannot recommend Honors Band enough,” Mizer expressed, “Even if you are on the fence, still learn the piece and go through with your audition. Just learning the difficult piece makes you better as a musician. Plus, going through live auditions just makes the next ones easier as you get familiar with the piece.”

Witkouski agreed with Mizer’s thoughts: “Honors Band, and any music festival is a great way to grow as a musician. It is intimidating when auditioning and learning the music for the concert, but it really pushes you to challenge yourself musically.”

Novak shared similar sentiments: “I highly recommend auditioning for Honors Band if you enjoy playing your instrument. It’s always great to meet and see students from other schools who have the same dedication towards music. The pieces are usually challenging but worth playing when everything comes together when rehearsing and during the concert.”

Congratulations to these talented musicians and best wishes in your future musical endeavors!