HURON — Mrs Rachel Halsey, band director at James Valley Christian School, is pleased to announce that Giddeon Waldner, an 8th grade baritone player, has been accepted to the South Dakota Music Education Association Middle School All State Band.

Middle School All State Band is in Mitchell, on March 1- 2, featuring Mr. Randall Standridge and former Huron High School band director Dr. Larry Petersen as guest conductors.

Two hundred instrumentalists in grades 6-8 from across the state make up this year’s Honor and Festival Bands.

The public is invited to attend the grand finale concert at the Mitchell Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 2 at 3 p.m. The concert is open to the public, with a small admission cost for adults.

Giddeon Waldner, a James Valley Christian eighth grader, who plays the baritone and was accepted to the Middle School All-State Band, which takes place next month in Mitchell.

The mission of the National Association for Music Education is to advance music education by promoting the understanding and making of music by all. SDMEA is a state affiliate of the National Association for Music Education. With over 400 members, SDMEA is the largest association of instructional musicians in the state catering to the needs of band, choral, general music, and orchestra teachers.

Last fall, JVC had seven students selected for the Augustana Band Festival in Sioux Falls.

These students joined hundreds of students from the five-state area to rehearse and perform at the Washington Pavilion. Participating students are nominated by their high school directors, and the festival is organized and carried out by an Augustana committee of outstanding student musicians.