Thirty-eight Harding band and orchestra students made it to state with their solos and ensembles.   

The following students are state qualifiers with superior ratings: Grace Slovak, violin solo; Monica Moghbel, violin solo; Alejandro (AJ) Covey, clarinet solo; Sophia Doonkeen, clarinet solo; Rachel Carr, clarinet solo; Owen Clark, alto saxophone solo; Alex Kravtsov, trumpet solo; Grace Slovak and Juan Madera, violin duet; Riley Reiswig and Poojita Sitaraman, violin duet; Sophia Doonkeen, Alejandro (AJ) Covey and Lucas Helm, clarinet trio; The Victory Squad quartet: Grace Slovak, Alice Wei, Poojita Sitaraman and Monica Moghbel; The Appalachian Carol ensemble: Poojita Sitaraman, Alice Wei, Grace Slovak, Juan Madera, Riley Reiswig, Cameron Crabb, Denny Pos Chay, Dahlia Hernandez, Makeda Dawit, Stephanie Ramirez, Ben Peters, Teilynn Salzwedel and Callen Dozier; The Ocean Storm ensemble: Monica Moghbel, Madeline Scott, Daniel Avila, Leonel Saldana, Caleb Resendiz, Mason Abplanalp, Raimi Shadik, Mareli Dominguez, Elora Moore, Adriana Hernandez, Evan Castellanos-Bui, Kaira Jackson, Owen Marler, Joseph Nwamarah and JaColby Williams.  

“I’m excited because I’ve never done it before,” said Covey, “but also nervous to make mistakes but we have a month to prepare so it’s okay.”    

The following students made excellent ratings: Poojita Sitaraman violin solo; Juan Madera violin solo; Angel Lopez tenor saxophone solo; Peter Onema tenor saxophone solo; Benjamin Peters cello solo; Colin Ruhl trombone solo; Elise LaFleur marimba solo; The Dave Walsh Fan Club quartet: Juan Madera, Cameron Crabb, Denny Pos Chay and Riley Reiswig; Adriana and Dahlia Hernandez viola and violin duet; Cole Champion, Owen Clark, Angel Lopez and Peter Onema saxophone quartet.   

The following students received good ratings: Cameron Crabb violin solo; Alice Wei violin solo; Kaira Jackson cello solo; Elora Moore viola solo.  

“Solo and ensemble was an exciting experience,” said Sitaraman, “Though there were many stressful moments, from preparing pieces to performing in front of a judge; it was worth the work and brought a sense of accomplishment afterward.”