St. Mary’s students earn spots in regional honor band, choir

Six St. Mary’s students landed spots in regional honor ensembles, a result that puts Storm Lake’s small Catholic school on display in both band and choir and shows a music program that keeps feeding northwest Iowa stages.

Fifth- and sixth-grade band students from St. Mary’s were headed to Carroll for the Heartland 5/6 Grade Honor Band, where they would rehearse with peers from across the region before closing the day with a concert. Selected for St. Mary’s were Alisson Guardado Viscarra on clarinet, Nora Schimmer on flute, Sebastian Trejo on alto saxophone and Liam Smith on baritone. The selection meant more than a name on a roster, since the students had already been preparing their music in advance.

Earlier in the week, St. Mary’s also sent two students to the ICDA 5/6 Grade Honor Choir in Orange City. Amy Gomez Miramontes and Lincoln Berg represented the school at the April 21 event, which brought together more than 200 students for rehearsals and an evening performance. The festival was held at MOC-FV High School, 615 8th St SE in Orange City.

The repeated selections point to more than a one-time achievement. St. Mary’s says its fine arts program includes a pre-K through 8 choral music program and a grades 5 through 8 band program, with students given opportunities to compete at the district and state levels. That structure helps explain why the school keeps placing students in regional ensembles: younger musicians are being trained inside a program that is built to move them toward larger auditions and more demanding performances.

The Iowa Choral Directors Association says its work centers on leadership, support and educational opportunities for Iowa choral musicians, and its honor events give students a chance to sing alongside musicians from outside their own school walls. For St. Mary’s, the value is visible in the pattern itself. Previous local coverage has shown the school sending students to similar honor choir events, and a 2019 northwest Iowa middle school honor choir drew 550 singers at Storm Lake High School, underscoring how large and competitive these festivals can be.

In a county where school recognition often centers on athletics or academics, the music results give Buena Vista County families another measure of what St. Mary’s is producing. Four band students in Carroll and two choir students in Orange City, in the same week, point to a fine arts program that is not just participating in regional music, but consistently earning its place there.