MIHS orchestra, choir students selected for All-State ensemble

Four Mercer Island High School orchestra students and another choir student were selected along with the 27 MIHS band students for this year’s All-State honor music ensembles.

Violinists Ryan Char and Leo Zhang, cellist Minjie Park, tenor Jeff Parkinson, string bassist Nathan Wacker will travel to Yakima in February for a weekend of instruction, rehearsal and performance with several hundred of the finest students studying music in Washington state.

Generally, there are over 6,000 applicants, with only 17 percent selected by the Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA) for demonstrating the highest standards of musical performance. Mercer Island had among the highest number of students admitted in the state.

New School Board members step in Dec. 10

The Mercer Island School District will swear in newly-elected board members David D’Souza and Tracy Drinkwater at its Dec. 10 regular meeting. The meeting will tentatively begin at 4 p.m. with a recognition for outgoing board members Pat Braman and Brian Emanuels.