Athletes aren’t the only ones practicing for months on end for statewide recognition. From band camp to holiday concerts and at nearly every school day or sporting event in between, you can find student musicians honing their craft.

For six students in Limestone County, all that hard work earned a spot in the 2020 Alabama Bandmasters Association District I Honor Band this weekend. Five of the six did so well in their auditions, they were able to earn a spot in the 2020 All-State Band in April, too.

“I was like, ‘Yeah. I just did that,’” said Evan Woodfin, who plays euphonium at Elkmont High School.

As an eighth grader, Woodfin qualified for the middle school honor band. He was the only student in Limestone County to make the cut, and it’ll be his first time at All-State.

It’s also a first for his bandmate, Elkmont junior and percussionist Jake Beddingfield. They made it to the district honor bands last year, and Beddingfield said he was excited all that practicing had paid off.

“I’m an aide for (Elkmont band director) Mr. Pigg in seventh period, and pretty much every day in seventh period, I’d play my routine,” Beddingfield said.

In their auditions, students performed 12 major scales, two minor scales and a chromatic scale from memory. A piccolo player’s scales, for example, included scales with up to 65 notes that had to be played in a specific order for the judges.

“If they do not pass at least five major scales and arpeggios for middle school, and seven for high school, the audition ends,” Davin Kyle, band director for West Limestone High School, explained. “Sometimes missing just one note of a scale is the difference between passing and failing the scale room.”

If they do pass, he said, students must then perform a technical exercise. After that, they move to a second room, where they perform a lyrical exercise. Students are given a piece of music they’ve never seen before, allowed 1 minute to look it over, then have to perform the piece.

“It’s a very tough district to make it in,” Kyle told The News Courier. “A lot of great schools … It’s a huge honor to make it.”

Two of Kyle’s students — seniors Addison Holt and Della Smithson — will be joining Beddingfield in the high school honor band this weekend. District I Honor Band meets for the first time Friday at Grissom High School in Huntsville. They’ll receive new music to rehearse Friday and Saturday, then perform a free public concert 7 p.m. Saturday at the high school.

“It’s rewarding,” Holt said of the opportunity. “(There’s) so many people you don’t know, that you’ve never met, and yet you can play these beautiful pieces of music together.”

Holt and Smithson each plan to continue playing after they graduate high school. Holt, a flutist, will major in nursing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, while Smithson, a trumpet player, said her experiences in band have inspired her to pursue a music education major at the University of North Alabama.

“It’s the connections you make,” said Smithson, who was also chosen to perform with the 2020 Alabama Orchestra Association All-State Sinfonia Orchestra last weekend in Tuscaloosa. She said after traveling and making music with new people, “I want to be able to teach that and grow kids into being able to do the same thing.”

Joining the West Limestone and Elkmont students are two students from Athens High. Baritone player Christian Bustos and oboe player Jesse Hernandez each made it to District, with Hernandez also being chosen as an alternate for All-State. Hernandez and Bustos are juniors at Athens.

The 2020 Alabama All-State Band Festival is set for April 23–25 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. As with District, students will rehearse throughout the festival for a concert to be held on the final day. Visit abadistrict1.com for updates on the festival.