Many SCHS Pirates had the great honor of participating in the Greater St. Louis Honors Band on Nov. 8: Eric Kelley (Alto Saxophone) Carter Doyle (Alto Saxophone) Connor Marvin (Baritone Saxophone)  Alijah Guyot (Bass Clarinet) Hunter Wells (Clarinet) Marcella Sheils (Euphonium) Max Sheils (French Horn) Brody Higgins (French Horn) Israel Cervantes (Oboe) Emmett Bibb (Tenor Saxophone) Jake Crossman (Trombone) Alex Frese (Trombone) Gordon Robben (Tuba) Dylan Arnold (Tuba). The St. Louis Honors Band is a band not just anyone is allowed to join, only skilled musicians are selected to participate in this group.

“[The St. Louis Honors Band is] an honor band where students were selected across the district of Missouri to participate in an honor band at UMSL,” said senior Max Sheils.

Thirteen people were nominated by band teacher Dinah Hotz according to Marcella Sheils, and all 13 made it into the honors band.

Being an honors band, students were selected by their skill and expected to live up to this skill.

“We were all compelled to learn some pieces of music in like eight hours and then perform that night,” said junior Dylan Arnold.

However, the Pirate players were unaffected by any stress that this may have caused them.

“For me no, it was not. We do a lot of warmups in band and we sight read stuff all the time,” said Max. 

A band is only as good as the sum of its parts, and the honors band is no exception.

“The most important part was playing together,” said Max