JACKSON – Three students from the Jackson Township High School Instrumental Music Department earned acceptance into prestigious South Jersey Band and Orchestra Association Region III Honors Ensembles following auditions held at Absegami High School.
Four JTHS musicians competed against high school students from across Ocean County and southern New Jersey. Auditions required performers to prepare and present a collegiate-level solo, demonstrate scales and sight-reading skills, and perform before a panel of judges. Three of the four students were selected for regional ensembles, with Jackson also producing the highest-scoring trumpet player and the second highest-scoring euphonium player in the region.
The selected students are Vanessa DeSouza, a Grade 12 STEM Academy student who earned first chair trumpet and was chosen for both the Region Orchestra and Region Wind Ensemble; Daniel Dipierro, a Grade 11 DMA Academy student who placed second chair euphonium in the Region Wind Ensemble; and Madison McMahon, a Grade 11 JAA Academy student selected as bass clarinetist for the Region Symphonic Band. Morgann Thomas, a Grade 11 clarinetist, narrowly missed selection for the Symphonic Band.
The three accepted students will perform in January on the campus of Rowan University alongside top student musicians from the region under the direction of regionally and nationally recognized conductors.
