Students Play in Pierce Honor Band
by Katrina Meier
Area students in grades six to nine participated in the 16th annual Pierce honor band on Saturday, April 1, at Pierce High School. The students were divided into two bands based on their grade and spent the day practicing with a concert in the evening.
There were approximately 175 students from Plainview, Osmond, Pierce, Wayne, Wakefield, O'neill, Norfolk Middle School, Norfolk JH, Norfolk High, Neligh-Oakdale, Pender, Winside, Bloomfield, and Norfolk Catholic in attendance.
Eight students from Pierce played in the 6th to 7th grade band. Brynnlee Marks and Alena Peters played the flute; Sarah Fenton, Kaila Spieker, and Brielle Unseld played the clarinet; and Shawn Zellmer played the tenor saxophone. Also in the younger band, Alexus Sindelar played the trumpet, and Addison Croghan played percussion. This band played songs “Open Road” by Robert Sheldon, “Celtic Air and Dance No. 2” arranged by Michael Sweeney, “Armory” by Randall D. Standridge, and “Bunker Hill March” by John Edmondson. The students were led by Shelly Lenz, a director from Lincoln.
Seven students played in the 8th to 9th grade band. Abby Meier played clarinet; Shawn Rinkel and Caydan Retzlaff played trumpet; and Kyler Peters played the French horn. Mason Sindelar played trombone; and Mark Venteicher and Cruz Gleason played percussion. This band played five songs: “Snake Charmer” by Randall D. Standridge, “American Heritage March” by John Edmondson, “On Placid Seas” by Robert Sheldon, “A+” by Thomas C. Duffy, and “Zombie Tango” by James Meredith. Dr. Duane Bierman, the director of bands at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, led the older band.
Pierce’s band director, Mike Sindt, who organizes the event each year, said, “The day went very smooth, and the concert was great thanks to the efforts of a great bunch of band parents, students, and directors.”