Region 18 Jazz band auditions were held last night at LBJ High School. Congratulations to the following students who earned a chair placement!

Will Grossenbacher -1st Chair Tenor
James Bautch- 3rd Chair Alto
Richard Mitchell-6th Chair Trumpet
Andrew Graham- 8th Chair Trumpet
Jacob Graybill- 2nd Chair Trombone
Jack Bueide – 3rd Chair Trombone
Ben Hurta – 4th Chair Trombone
Preston Hatem – 2nd Chait Bari Sax
Evan MacGregor – 2nd Chair Jazz Guitar

Junior James Bautch was one of the students who earned a chair placement at the jazz band auditions. Although the auditions can be nerve racking, Bautch already set expectations.

“Going into the audition room I wasn’t very nervous,” Bautch said. “The previous year was my first time competing at the high school level for jazz, so I sort of knew what to expect in terms of the atmosphere and the other players.”

Bautch recalled his audition from last year and worked to improve his mistakes.

“One of my main problems last year was speeding up the music due to stress, but this year I managed to stay calm which I think helped my overall scores,” Bautch said.

The jazz auditions consists of musicians across the district who perform in front of the judges, striving to get a high rank.

“The auditions are between many musicians from different schools in the district. Once everyone performs, the panel of judges give a chair order, or a ranking of everyone who performed,” Bautch said. “From there, if you place well, you can make a region band, where you play with people at a similar skill level, and give a performance of standards.”

Success in the auditions can lead to new opportunities for musicians.

“If you get the top chairs, you can advance to area to compete in a similar audition process, and it goes all the way up to all state, which in the music world, is one of the highest positions you can make,” Bautch said.

Bautch continue to set high standards from himself, thus he can improve every year.

“Overall, I placed 3rd in the Alto Saxophone room which is personal improvement from last year, but there is still a lot of room for me to grow and get better for next year,” Bautch said.