Powell High School sophomore Austin Sears accomplished something that long time band director John Fabela has not seen in his over a decade and a half tenure at Powell High School.

Sears has qualified for four prestigious music events as a percussionist. He will play in All-State Music in Cheyenne, All Northwest in Spokane, Washington, and  on the drum set at All State Jazz Band in Cheyenne all in the same year. He was also part of the North Big Horn Basin Honor Band at Northwest College in November.

“Last year after I made All-State I was like, ‘dude, this is really fun and cool, and what would happen if I did all three,’” Sears remembered thinking.

A lot of time goes into making one of these events, Sears said; it’s a practice, homework and more practice before going to sleep.

“Austin is just a sophomore, but he’s actually really in terms of band, he is qualifying and not necessarily competing, but performing at the highest level, really, that he can,” Powell High School Principal Tim Wormald said during a December board meeting where Sears was recognized.

Fabela added that Sears selection for the All-Northwest Band was over thousands of students from Alaska, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Wyoming.

Out of all three experiences Sears is looking forward to All-Northwest the most.

He was also excited for All-State Jazz slated for Monday and Tuesday because of a note in the sheet music. One of the selected songs has a large drum part, “it says go bananas at one point, so I’m looking forward to that,” Sears said.

A press release from the All-State Jazz Concert, which is organized by the Wyoming Jazz Educators, highlighted the technical difficulties of jazz.

“The way I think of it is my jazz band is like my varsity-level players,” said Steve Oakley, president of Wyoming Jazz Educators and band  Campbell County High school.

Sears is not the only member of Powell High’s band to receive a prestigious selection.

It’s been a good year for Powell High School Band. Four other members will be attending or have attended a selective band event this school year. 

“For a school our size I’m really proud of the number of kids we’ve had selected into these groups,” Fabela said, noting he is proud of the students and looking forward to hearing the various groups.  

Justin Dusenberry (clarinet), Jenessa Polson (flute) and Danica Mason (violin) will be joining Sears at All-State music on Jan. 19-21 and Dusenberry and Mason will also attend All-Northwest Feb. 13-16. Also outstanding in the 2024-2025 school year, Curtis Muecke (clarinet) was a member of the University of Montana High School All-Star Bands in November where hundreds of students from North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Alaska and Washington learn from composers, conductors and University of Montana professors and then perform. 

Like Sears, Polson has attended All-State Music  before— this year she will be first chair flute as part of the all-state orchestra where she’ll also have a solo.

Polson did not expect to be first chair and would have been happy to just go again, she said.

“So when I got first it was totally shocking to me. It was quite hilarious, because Austin and I were just like, jumping up and down in the hallway trying to be quiet because there’s classes going on everywhere, Polson added.

Wind instruments are harder to qualify for in the orchestra setting, Sears said.

It takes a lot of practice to qualify at the state level, Polson said, “essentially you just kind of change your biological schedule to less hours of sleep so you can practice,” she joked. 

A story on Powell High’s All-Northwest choir students will feature in a later issue of the Tribune.