Freshman Kate Williams, junior Ramy Afzalianmand and seniors Guillaume Saaty and Mitchel Williams just earned spots in OBU’s Honor band.

The OBU Honor Band is sponsored by Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee and it is similar to other honor bands. Students audition, make the band, endure long practice sessions for two days then perform a concert in January.

Students from all over Oklahoma can audition for the band.

“OBU is for any size school and any school can go, it’s just typically the same ones every year. You see a lot of small schools like Cushing, Luther, Bethel, Dale and Harrah,” said band director Kelli Taylor. Homeschooled students also participate with OBU’s honor band.

“It’s less stressful and generally more relaxed audition process, which is like a ‘stepping stone’ honor band for students,” Taylor said. “It’s not necessarily easy to get in.”

Mitchel Williams has been in OBU’s Honor Band for a couple years and this is Saaty’s second year.

“OBU is one of my more favorite honor bands so to say. I didn’t get to do it my freshman year because I was sick on audition day and sophomore year I didn’t make it. Junior year, I finally made it which was really nice. It was nice to maintain that spot this year,” said Saaty, who has been playing the tuba for seven years.

This is Kate Williams and Ramy Afzalianmand’s first year with OBU.

“I wasn’t really expecting to be accepted, since it’s all new to me,” Kate Williams said.

She has been playing the clarinet for four years.

“I was really debating if I was going to continue,” she said about continuing to play in a band. “Mitchel, my brother is in it so that really added in so I could have a class with him during his senior year.”

Afzalianmand has played the bass clarinet for six years.

“I was very nervous about the audition, but I feel that I did my very best,” he said.