On October 11, 101 Towson High students traveled to Dumbarton Middle School to audition for the all-county honors band, orchestra, and chorus. Each year, students are selected from high schools around the county to participate in these selective ensembles.

Following the auditions, the students anxiously awaited the results. Each morning, they would stop by the band room to check if they were selected. As the week wore on, their impatience grew. Finally, when the results came out last Thursday, musicians crowded the band hallway to catch a glimpse of lists hung up outside the music office. Now that the hysteria has died down, the success of our music program is evident.

Over fifty percent of the Towson students who tried out were selected, and they make up about twenty percent of all the participants. Twenty-five are in the band, eleven are in the orchestra, and twenty-three are in the chorus. Of course, another measure of our success is how our students compare with Dulaney. Although Dulaney students account for twenty-two percent of the total number of musicians, we outnumber the Lions by over ten in the chorus. Congrats to our choral director Derrick Jackson for an outstanding accomplishment!

Why is all-county such a big deal? Junior clarinetist Ben Paulis believes that “it gives musicians a chance to see how they size up against the other musicians in the county.” The auditions are also treated like a competition between students who want to get the highest position possible in the ensembles.

What’s next for the music program? In November, Towson students will again put their skills to the test as they audition for the distinguished All-State ensembles. Usually, only a handful of Towson students get in each year, but if the results of all-county are any indication, we can expect this year to be a huge success.

The honors concert will take place on Monday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Murphy Fine Arts Center on Morgan State’s campus. Be sure to attend and support our Towson musicians!

For the complete list of the results visit: https://sites.google.com/site/towsonhighschoolmusic/news/bcpsallhonorsresults