Music students participated in several competitions throughout the past few months.

The KSHAA All State Solo and Small Ensemble Festival included students who received first division ratings at Regional Solo and Small Ensemble.

Jackson Lindamood, freshman; Brianna Calderon, Olivia Massey, and Bryan Johnson, sophomores; Jeremy Kuehnen, Andrea Vandenbark, Isaiah Petrie, Evan Smith, Flynn Hemenway and Jenna Stokes, juniors; and Noelle Schlenk and Hank Lancaster, seniors, all received first division ratings at All State Solo and Small Ensemble from band.

The wind ensemble brass quintet and horn sextet also received first division ratings.

Jenna Stokes, junior, has been participating in solo and ensemble for six years.

Stokes performed Mozart’s “Fourth Horn Concerto” and received a superior rating.

“The judge’s reaction to my cadenza was very positive,” Stokes said.

Performing as a soloist proves to be more challenging for Stokes.

“It can be a lot more stressful. In a band, you can hide behind your section,” Stokes explained.

Students from choir also participated in this festival.

Ezra Stanley, junior; and Catie Walker, Brittany Taylor, Kyle Kersten, and David Swanson, seniors, all earned first division ratings with their solos.

Stanley participated in solo and ensemble for the first time this year.

“I thought that I was brave enough this year, and I felt confident to begin working on a solo,” Stanley said.

Like many other soloists, Stanley has strategies to deal with nerves.

“I try to block it out and tell myself that if I ‘take an L,’ then so be it,” Stanley said.

Eric Schin, freshman; Caroline Shipley, junior; and Emilie Giles, senior, received first division ratings at All State Solo and Ensemble.

Lizzy Simpson and Austin Lafferty, sophomores; Zachary Carpenter, junior; and Hannah Alemu and Michael Dixon, seniors, created a string ensemble and made it all the way to state.

“We practiced together twice a week, but we practiced more often as we got closer to contests,” Simpson said.