Band Director Kelly Landry directs the symphonic winds section through this year's performance. 

The New Iberia Senior High Pride of Cajunland Band ended the 2023-24 season, and marked the return of the Jazz Band after a 30-year hiatus, with a Spring Concert at the NISH auditorium Tuesday, May 7.

The event began with an indoor percussion show, followed by four pieces from the NISH Jazz Band, before the Symphonic Winds section performed three of the pieces they have been competing with all year.

Sophomore Patra Liamkeo, a percussionist who plays the piano and marimba for NISH, said the event was a culmination of a lot of hard work and preparation.

“I think it went great. We practiced a lot for it, so now that it’s here I was pumped up,” she said.

“I think all of them were really exciting. It’s the last time that we’re playing together as a band and those songs.”

Senior Ethne Killgore echoed a similar sentiment. Killgore, who will be attending Southern Miss in the fall to major in Violin Performance, said the goal for the spring concert was to put on a good show for the families and band supporters.

“It’s the end of the year for us,” she said. “We’ve done our district performance, we’ve done the whole year of performances, so now it’s time to do one last performance for our families. It’s the last one, but it’s really important. I thought it was a great performance. We might not have done as well as at district, but it was fun and that’s really what matters.”

Killgore said she was excited to see the return of the NISH Jazz Band after a long absence.

“It’s awesome to see it come back,” she said. “My brother is in it and he’s a trombone soloist, so it’s really cool to hear that. I’ve never been to a performance like that except at colleges, so it’s awesome to have it here at NISH.”

Band director Kelly Landry was happy with his group’s performances, especially the ones who played in all three sections of the concert.

“I thought it was a good performance. The kids did really, really well for all that we were asking them to do,” Landry said. “There were some kids who played on all three parts of the show, so by the end you can see that it was a mix of elation and exhaustion.”

Landry also praised the Jazz Band for their performance despite having just six rehearsals.

“The jazz band, for having only six rehearsals with primarily sophomores and freshmen, went well. It could have gone sideways really quickly, but the kids showed what they’re made of and they live for it,” he explained. “That lets us continue to drive forward next year and continue to improve the program.”

The concert marked the end of a successful band season for NISH, with several musicians earning all-district and all-state honors. Landry praised his senior class for their flexibility and dedication to the program despite extraordinary circumstances.

“We talked about these seniors as being a foundational group. Every year, our senior group is fantastic, but these kids had that freshman year where we were unable to play due to COVID and then when we did finally get back we had to play outside,” Landry said. “They had every reason to just not show up, but they showed up. We’re going to graduate 10 of them and they started closer to 30 than to 10, but a lot of those kids fell by the wayside. The ones who stuck it out are the ones who are really showing the younger musicians that if you just work hard and stay focused, you can accomplish anything. These seniors are all going off to college and they all have music scholarships. Not all of them are going to be music majors, but most of them are going to stay involved in music in some aspect.”

Landry announced the winners of the end-of-season awards throughout the ceremony. The winners are as follows:

Most Improved By Class

Freshman – Saige Willis

Sophomore – Brittany Tovar

Junior – Bruce Ly

Senior – Matthew Khamphilavong

Most Improved By Instrument Family

Brass – Bruce Ly

Woodwind – Yeri Remirez-Cruz

Percussion – Reece Decoux

Most Outstanding By Class

Freshman – Carlos Ochoa

Sophomore – Patra Liamkeo

Junior – Wesley Killgore

Senior – Ethne Killgore

Most Outstanding By Instrument Family

Brass – Raynie Smith

Woodwind – Khai Huynh

Percussion – Mason Leblanc

Drum Major Award

Trent Leblanc

Director’s Award (awarded to a student who displays high qualities of dedication and conduct and is presented in recognition of the student’s outstanding contribution to the music ensemble)

Mason Leblanc

John Philip Sousa Award (The most prestigious award for high school students. The Sousa Award recognizes superior musicianship, leadership, dependability, loyalty and cooperation. In short, the qualities directors strive to develop in all students.)

Raynie Smith

Ethne Killgore

The band also recognized several members who earned all-district and all-state honors this year. Those honorees include:

LMEA District 3 Honor Band (composed of members from the 6 parishes in District 3 through a single round audition)

Concert Band (3rd band)

Benjamin Cline – french horn

Mason Haydel – trumpet

Symphonic Band (2nd band)

Gracie Frith – french horn

Sinjin Hebert – tenor saxophone

Landon Liamkeo – tuba

Patra Liamkeo – piano/percussion

Wind Ensemble (1st Band)

Trent Leblanc – oboe

Khai Huynh – clarinet

Raynie Smith – trumpet

Wesley Killgore – trombone

Mason Leblanc – percussion

LMEA All-State (composed of members from across the state through a 2 round audition process )

Orchestra

Trent Leblanc – oboe

Ethne Killgore – violin

Symphonic Band

Raynie Smith – trumpet

Concert Band

Landon Liamkeo – tuba