Monte band students to play in Northwest honor bands

Pacific Lutheran University picks three for special performance. National association of music teachers picks one.

December 20, 2018 1:30 am
Hero Winsor, center, plays French horn during class Monday at Montesano High School. She recently was invited to perform with two Northwest honor bands: one at Pacific Lutheran University next month in Tacoma, and for the National Association for Music Educators’ Northwest region meeting in February in Portland. Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group
Hero Winsor, center, plays French horn during class Monday at Montesano High School. She recently was invited to perform with two Northwest honor bands: one at Pacific Lutheran University next month in Tacoma, and for the National Association for Music Educators’ Northwest region meeting in February in Portland. Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group

Three Montesano High School band students recently were selected to perform in honor bands with students from across the Northwest.

Krysten Campbell, Will Grinols and Hero Winsor will play in the Pacific Lutheran University’s Northwest High School Honor Band.

Winsor, who plays French horn, is a senior; Campbell and Grinols both are juniors. Campbell plays alto saxophone, and Grinols plays trombone.

They will join about 200 students from across the Northwest for two days of rehearsing, which culminates in a performance Jan. 5 at PLU’s Lagerquist Hall, said Maria Hoffman, director of the Montesano band program.

This will be Campbell’s and Grinols’ first time in the PLU band. Winsor took part last year.

Winsor also was selected to play in the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) All-Northwest honor band.

High school students from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming will perform in mid-February during the 2019 NAfME Northwest Division Conference in Portland. About 1,000 students from the Northwest will perform “under the direction of world-renowned conductors,” Hoffman said in an email.

Winsor says she also plays marching horn, piano, violin and trumpet. This is her first year playing in the NAfME band.

It’s “a fun experience to add to my repertoire,” Winsor said. “I haven’t done All-Northwest yet. For the past two years, I’ve done All-State Concert Band or All-State Symphonic Orchestra.”

She says playing in bands brings her “closer to the enlightening experience of music and has created many friendships.”

“Last year, I did the Concert Band” at PLU, she said. “This year, hopefully I’ll be in the Symphonic Band.”

The three students will audition for the bands on the first day and find out their assignments.

Winsor is involved in more than band at MHS.

“I do knowledge Bowl, I’m the captain of a team,” she said. “I do Math Bowl, I’ve been to state twice for math team. I’m the president of the Astronomy Club. I’m the secretary of the Gay-Straight Alliance. And I’m the Associated Student Body representative for Honor Society.”

She also plays with the Grays Harbor Symphony. Next year, Winsor will attend The Evergreen State College.