The Spirit of McIntosh High School Marching Band will have seven of its members performing in honor bands during the months of January and February.
Ian Buckalew and Aurelius Belli have been selected as members of the University of Georgia Honor Symphonic Band, and will perform at the university’s annual JanFest, a pioneering band invitational established in 1950 for high school students.
Students are nominated for participation by their band director. UGA Bands staff selects students to participate based on the instrumentation need of the festival bands, and the reported musical achievements of each student.
Buckalew and Belli are among approximately 1,000 students from 130 schools selected to participate in the UGA Honor Bands during JanFest. The event will take place in Athens, Georgia January 18-21.
Five other McIntosh High band students will travel to Troy University in Troy, Alabama to perform in the Southeastern United States Honor Band February 1-3. They are Brayden Fairrel, Brett Goss, Noah Oul, Abby Smith, and Jonah Sussman.
The students are among over 260 high school students who were selected from hundreds of students throughout the region, including Alabama, Florida and Georgia, who applied to be part of one of three honor bands.
Both the UGA Honor Band and Southeastern United States Honor Band offers participants opportunities to attend clinics presented by faculty and staff members from each university as well as guest clinicians.
Barbara Baker is the band director for McIntosh High.
