Auburn School District No. 408
915 4th Street Northeast, Auburn, WA  98002

 05/14/02

NEWS RELEASE
Auburn High School Band Students
Win State

The following Auburn High School students won First Place at the State Solo and Ensemble Contest held on Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27, in Ellensburg:  Percussion Small Ensemble, Marimba Trio - Katy Hinz, Mark Hoffman, and Matt Solbrack; Percussion Large Ensemble Percussion Quintet - Katy Hinz, Josh Johnson, Mark Hoffman, Matt Solbrack, and Luke Peterson; Woodwind Large Ensemble Sax Quartet - Martin Rodriguez, Christopher Siegmund, Kyle Durch, and Jamie Rottle; Tenor/Baritone Saxophone - Christopher Siegmund; and Harp - Tealah Hill.   Katy Hinz won Third Place in Mallets.

The following Auburn High School band students also competed at the State Solo and Ensemble Contest:  Kelly Hinz, Euphonium; Luke Peterson, Multiple Percussion; Kenny Horkley, Bass Clarinet; Katherine Shyi, Tuba; Christopher Siegmund, Piano; Brass Quintet - Michael Benedict, Dave Clark, Annie Gilbert, Sarah Miller, and Nichole Tomer; and Percussion Ensemble (Tusk) ~ Chris Dalman, Krissy Gleason, Josh Johnson, Luke Peterson, Matt Solbrack, Colin Lofgren, Thomas Conway, and Lucy Nguyen.

The State Solo Contest was sponsored by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (W.I.A.A.); Washington Music Educators Association (W.M.E.A.); and the Dairy Farmers of Washington.  In 1998, the Ensemble Competition was added to the state-wide event.  That was the third year that Auburn won First Place in State for Percussion Ensemble.  For the past four years, Auburn has sent a percussion ensemble to state and for the second year in a row these student musicians have won at State.  This year, it was Percussion Small Ensemble as well as Percussion Large Ensemble.  Last year, Auburn High School’s Sax Quartet won First Place, Large Woodwind Ensemble, and, this year, they repeated their success.

For the second year in a row, Auburn High School’s Music Program has been recognized as a "Grammy" Signature school for their outstanding music program.

Auburn High School will host their final concert of the year on Wednesday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Auburn's Performing Arts Center.  All band students will perform.

For more information, contact  Kevin Paustian, AHS band director, at 253-931-4719 ext. 1517 or Sue Hoffman, Auburn Band Parents’ Association, (253) 939-7569, ahsbandpresident @juno.com