Mt. Vernon High School sophomore Jebediah Lottes is eager to share his love of music with other band members around the state.
Lottes was recently selected as a member of the 2022 Indiana All-State High School Band.
“I’m very excited to be part of this. It will be great seeing other players that are as passionate (about) music as me,” said Lottes, who plays the euphonium, or tenor tuba.
Lottes has been selected to participate in the 62nd annual Indiana All-State High School Band Festival, sponsored by the Indiana Bandmasters Association.
“It’s a great honor to have a student from the program make the All-State Band,” said Jackie Nason, director of Band of Marauders. “Exposing students to these opportunities is so important as it continues to positively impact the whole program.
“Hopefully, we’ll have more students make All-State in the future as well as continue to take advantage of the many opportunities our different state organizations offer.”
Nason said it had been several years since Mt. Vernon had a student make the All-State Band.
All members will participate in a series of activities, including seating auditions, sectionals and full rehearsals March 11-13. A free public grand finale concert will be presented at 2:30 p.m. March 13 in the Elliott Hall of Music at Purdue University in West Lafayette.
“The most interesting part seems to be the concert as not many people can say they’ve performed at Purdue,” Lottes said.
Each student earned the honor by participating in a highly competitive audition early in January at nine centers across the state. Six hundred musicians applied to audition. A selection committee then reviewed recordings from each center. A total of 170 students from 54 high schools were selected for participation in the festival.
“During and after the audition, I thought I did well, but I was still nervous hearing the other players and how good they were,” Lottes said.
Nason said Lottes simply loves music.
“I think that passion drives him to practice and listen to a lot of different music,” Nason said. “Jeb plays several different instruments and has experience in different groups beyond just the high school program. Jeb seeks out different musical opportunities. He has taken initiative in the past, most recently gathering a group of students together to play at our local coffee shop on the evening of a fundraiser.”
Lottes has played the euphonium since sixth grade.
“I also play every other brass instrument, including trombone, tuba, trumpet, French horn,” he said. “I also play flute, ocarina, pocket sax, piano, electric guitar and drums.
