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Matthew Diroff, Novi High School’s director of bands, leads his band students during the 2023 Christmas season.
Photo provided by the Novi Community School District
NOVI — The Novi High School band and orchestra has something to rave about this year. Fifteen Novi students were selected to participate in the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association all-state band and orchestra, and five of them were named principal chairs.
Principal chair is the top audition honor in the state for the all-state band and orchestra. To be selected as principal chair, those students had the best audition of the more than 2,000 students from around the state who tried out for the band. The students who earned a principal chair position are Sophia Chacko (viola), Eric Ma (clarinet), Ashley Rennells (trumpet — band), David Tauro (trumpet — orchestra) and Grace Wou (flute).
“It’s a wonderful honor for these outstanding musicians to be named to the all-state band/orchestra,” said Matthew Diroff, Novi’s director of bands. “To have five of those students be placed as the principal players in those sections, from a pool of candidates from across the state, is an incredible recognition of their outstanding preparation and work ethic. We are so proud of them, as they are wonderful student representatives of our music program and Novi High School.”
“To be selected as principal chairs, students need to have the top audition in the state. This means in Novi, we have some of the top musicians in the state of Michigan in our classes every day,” said Jim Van Eizenga, Novi’s director of orchestras.
Chacko said she practiced a lot to prepare for the audition and that she is glad her hard work paid off.
“I’m honored to be principal chair,” she said.
Ma said he is grateful for the honor.
“It’s pretty intimidating, but also really cool. It feels very rewarding after many years of hard work with my instrument,” Wou said.
“I am so honored to represent my school in the all-state orchestra,” Tauro said. “Recently, I became very invested in playing the trumpet, and I am grateful to be recognized as one of the top musicians in the state.”
Chacko said she enjoys learning about music and likes to play a variety of different types of pieces. For Wou, her love of orchestra stems from the people involved. She said she has made some of her closest friends through her love of music. Tauro concurred, saying that his favorite part of band is the people. He said that the people are very welcoming, making it a great environment for him.
Chacko, Wou and Tauro expressed interest in continuing to play their instruments into their college years. Chacko said she is considering double majoring in business and viola. Wou said she plans to go into biomedical engineering, but will keep the flute as a hobby. Tauro said he plans to go into either engineering or computer science, but would love to continue playing his instrument in college.
Other members of the all-state band and orchestra representing Novi High School are Sophie Aguas, piccolo; Iris Cao, flute; Carles Caselles, trumpet; Daniel Han, clarinet; Donghyeok Kim, flute; Ethan Ko, clarinet; Johnny Kong, trumpet; Joshua La, bass clarinet; Elvis Xiang, clarinet; and Aaron Zhao, percussion.
The students will perform with the all-state band and orchestra at the Michigan Music Conference, to be held in Grand Rapids Jan. 27.
In addition to the 15 students who will be performing, three students received an honorable mention. They are Huisu Choi, cello; Catherine Hu, flute; and Yashwant Pantram, violin.
