The Gretna High School band got an Excellent Rating in Division II and the Drumline and Color Guard got a Superior Rating in Division I at the Nebraska State Band Association State Marching Festival on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Also, several Gretna High School students were selected to the Doane Honor Band and All-State Band, Orchestra and Choir.

In the Doane Honor Band, two Gretna students were among 147 students from Nebraska who auditioned and were selected to be apart of the Doane College Festival of Winds. Aaron Ray, a sophomore clarinet player, and Kelsey Start, a senior oboe player, played with the honor band on Oct. 31 on the Doane College Campus.

These 147 students make up two ensembles. Ms. Linda Donohue, a retired band director from the Blair Public Schools, conducted the Festival Ensemble. Dr. Larry Blocher, from Kansas State University, conducted the Honor Band.

For Nebraska All-State, each year more than 2,000 of the best high school musicians in the state audition for the Nebraska All-State Band, Chorus, Jazz Band and Orchestra. The Nebraska Music Educators Association sponsors it. GHS band director Alex Wimmer said it is one of the highest musical honors attainable in Nebraska to be selected as a member of one of these groups.

For Gretna, six students will participate. They are Kelsey Stark, a senior oboe player in the All-State Band and second year in the ensemble; Tyler Wilson, a sophomore clarinet player in the All-State Band and second year in ensemble; Kevin Cooley, a senior trombone player in the All-State Orchestra and second year in ensemble; Tate Rittenberger, a sophomore trombone player in the All-State Band; Woody Rittenberger a senior trombone player in the All-State Band; and Laura Glendenning, an alto II singer in the All-State Choir.

They will be among the 160 students selected to be a part of the 2009 All-State Band, 126 students selected to be a part of the 2009 All-State Orchestra and 432 students selected to be a part of the 2009 All-State Choir.

These ensembles will rehearse Nov. 18 through Nov. 20 on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, the host site of the 2009 NMEA Conference/Clinic. A final public concert will be on Friday, Nov. 20 at the Lied Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.