Band and choir members competed at state for solos and small ensembles at Emporia High School on Saturday, April 26, after receiving a one superior ranking at regionals.

Junior Grace Sulzman thinks all the hard work paid off when she received a one ranking in both her flute trio and her flute quartet.

“I was really excited and I was proud of everybody else in my ensembles and how hard we worked,” Sulzman said. “We had group lessons twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays where we went in and practiced with a private teacher.”

Senior Tristan O’Brien received a one ranking in both of his low brass quartets and his tuba solo and was proud of the achievements.

“I’m happy about it. I didn’t put in a lot of work for it over the last month,” O’Brien said. “Although, on a couple of them I was surprised [at how well we did].”

Sulzman chose to do ensembles to further her appreciation for music.

“[I chose ensembles because] a solo is really stressful and nerve wracking but it was less nerve wracking with a group so I thought that would be more fun,” Sulzman said. “It’s also really fun to get to express yourself with music.”