Nearly 450 middle and high school students from West Tennessee, Middle Tennessee and western Kentucky descended upon UTM Feb. 5 for the 26th annual Honor Band concerts.

The concerts were sponsored by the UTM Department of Music and were held in the Harriet Fulton Theatre. Students were divided into six different performing groups: two percussion ensembles, 7th and 8th grade band, 9th and 10th grade band, high school concert band and high school symphonic band.

“This is a wonderful experience for our school, community and students,” said Dr. Kevin Lambert, chair of the Department of Music.“I enjoy having the teachers as well as seeing so many graduates back home.”

Bryan Winningham is a senior Music Education major from Murfreesboro, Tenn. who helped the high students. “I am just making sure they have everything, for example, their musical instruments.”

“I think this is so great for high school students. I did it for three years when I was in high school,” said Calyn Evans, a freshman Music Education major from Trenton Tenn. “I answer any question they have and make sure they feel comfortable here.”

“It was amusing. I think I performed well,” said Adam Laman, a 12th-grader from Peabody High School. Billy Scharmann is also a 12th-grader from Peabody High School. He has been playing Euphonium for seven years. “I was very much honored to play with Mr. Ticheli,” Scharmann said.

The conductors were John Easley, a Director of Bands at Union City High School, Frank Ticheli, a composer who joined the faculty of the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music in 1991, Eric Willie, a freelance percussionist from Nashville, Tenn., Phillip Gregory who serves as band director at Sitgel Middle School in Murfreesboro, Tenn. and Kimberly Hass who is the director of bands at Cordova High School in Cordova, Tenn.