Second semester has been a busy time for the Liberty North band. In January they played at the Missouri Music Educators Association convention and have continued to receive rave reviews ever since. Last week, Liberty High School hosted the district solo and ensemble, where students from Liberty, Liberty North, Lee’s Summit, Platte County, and more play solos and ensembles they have been working on for months. Judges for each instrument then rate those solos and ensembles and if a 1 rating is awarded, those pieces move on to state at the end of the month in April, at the Mizzou student union.

  “I’ve never gotten a 1 until this year, so I’m really excited to have the chance to go on to state,” junior Claire Buchmann said.

  Receiving a 1 can be a major accomplishment for players, especially if they have never received one before. Students can start working on solos and ensembles as early as November, so getting the highest rating can really feel like their hard work has paid off.

  “After MMEA, everyone was pretty unmotivated, so to have this many people go out and really put their best efforts in and have it show is really awesome,” senior Kylee Oxler said.

  After a big event like MMEA, sometimes it’s hard to find motivation again to continue on with other activities and projects. Liberty North had over half of their entries become eligible to go on to state. With a band of that size, Liberty North will be well represented at Mizzou on April 26th.