Members of the band at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga did well at the All-East band auditions held on Jan. 10 at Bearden High School in Knoxville and sponsored by the East Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association.
The Notre Dame band had a perfect attendance of 11 at the auditions. The students were required to play three different skills alone in front of judges to be evaluated and ranked.
Five Notre Dame students made the cut for All-East, putting NDHS among the leaders across all schools in East Tennessee and leading all private schools in East Tennessee. Lander Smith on bassoon was ranked No. 1 and made first-team All-State.
Sam Marquez on tenor saxophone ranked fourth and Kyle Verro on alto saxophone ranked eighth, and both made the first team. Notre Dame’s Austin Suggs on tuba and Maddie Taylor on clarinet made second team. Honorable-mention recognition went to Josiah Morais on alto sax and Nathan Wesson on trumpet.