Two exceptional Laguna Beach High School horn players performed with the Southern California All-Southern High School Honor Band.
Trumpeters Aaron Alcouloumre auditioned for the wind ensemble, and tenor saxophone player Kenji Lee competed for a spot among the jazz all-stars.
The students performed at a music industry conference this past weekend.
“It is a huge honor and accomplishment by the students to make that group. They are considered the finest high school musicians in southern California,” LBHS Instrumental music teacher Jeremy Chung said in a statement.
“Both of them were bitten by the music bug at Thurston and have been pursuing their musical goals ever since,” said LBHS Instrumental music teacher Roger Shew.
“It has been an amazing experience watching them grow in their own unique ways,” Shew said. “Kenji is striving for improvised music focusing on sax, piano and composition while Aaron is looking toward the classical field and has made major progress with his range, reading and performance techniques. Both musicians are incredibly dedicated and well deserve the honor of playing in the All-Southern Honor groups. We are super proud of both of them!”
Principal Chris Herzfeld described his admiration after hearing a performance of Kenji’s original composition at a concert last December.
