Staff Profile

West hosts All-State auditions for first time in decades, 43 students accepted

West students across all three music programs qualified for the selective festival, which will be held in Ames Nov. 20-22.

Sonya Zhu, Emily Rabe, and Adam Lee

October 31, 2025

Emily Rabe

Caleb Davies ’26 practices his solo during his five-minute warmup Oct. 25. Davies achieved being selected into All-State all four years of high school.

Hundreds of students from southeast Iowa arrived at West High Oct. 25 to audition for the All-State Music Festival, a prestigious event held by the Iowa High School Music Association each year. This year, West held auditions in the southeast district for the first time, with 80 West students auditioning.

The audition process involved performing specific scales and excerpts selected by IHSMA in front of a panel of judges. The festival is very competitive, with dozens of students competing for very few spots in each instrumental category. Some instruments have as few as two available spots per district, making qualifying very difficult.

After auditions and recalls, 43 West students were selected with six alternates and will hold a performance Nov. 22 with other selected musicians from across the state. From West, 21 were accepted for orchestra with three alternates, 14 for band with three alternates and eight for choir. Senior Caleb Davies was the singular musician from West who has been accepted to the festival all four years of his high school career. The following students were selected:

Band

Nathan Butler-Flute 1

Helena Yang-Flute 2

Kento Sugiyama-Bassoon- Orchestra

Caleb Davies-Clarinet 1

Patrick Loussaert-Clarinet 2

Siddharth Venkatesan-Clarinet 2

Claire Reimer-Clarinet 3

Ashleigh Topp-Clarinet 3

Evan Liu-Alto Saxophone

Maddux Neukirch-Baritone Saxophone

Zachary Kaplan-Trumpet

Henry Lawler-Trombone

Kazuhiko Goto-Bass Trombone

Derick Doresca-Percussion

Oli Lieberman-Horn-Alternate

Grace Wang-Trombone-Alternate

Alice Gooblar-Perovic-Trombone-Alternate

Orchestra

Nathan Chen-Violin 1

Shannon Chen-Violin 1

Tommy Gao-Violin 1

Maggie Nguyen-Violin 1

Braelyn Pham-Violin 1

Shanza Sami-Violin 1

Akiho Sugiyama-Violin 1

Erin Chen-Violin 2

Lydia Evans-Violin 2

Gracie Liu-Violin 2

Dylan Asikin-Garmager-Viola

Sylvia Broffitt-Viola

Matthew Lu-Viola

Alexander Moss-Viola

Max Schebel-Viola

Winston Fan-Cello

Ellie Roetlin-Cello

Aiden Zhang-Cello

Sonya Zhu-Cello

Solomon Shaffer-String Bass

Oliver Baumann-String Bass

Momo Shinozaki-Violin-Alternate

Jensen Lin-Violin-Alternate

Alex Forbes-Cello-Alternate

Choir

Ayla Bleil – Soprano

Greta Gromacki – Alto

Emma Lai – Alto

Eva Ortega Lopez – Alto

Gabriel Conrad – Tenor

Luke Reimer – Tenor

Tage Zimmermann – Tenor

Thaniel Rent – Bass

The musicians will head to Ames to perform at the festival Nov. 20-22 with other students from over 150 schools across the state.

Donate to West Side Story

$600

$2000

Contributed

Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of West High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase Scholarship Yearbooks, newsroom equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

About the Contributors

Sonya Zhu, Print Reporter

Sonya Zhu is a sophomore, and this is her first year on staff. She’s a photographer and writer on the West Side Story staff this year. In her free time, she likes to play cello and read.

Emily Rabe, Yearbook Student Life Editor

Emily Rabe is a senior and this is her third year on the Trojan Epic and first year on staff for the West Side Story. This year she is the Student Life editor for Trojan Epic. In her free time she enjoys dancing at Nolte Academy, taking photos and getting DQ with friends.

Adam Lee, Online Copy Co-Editor

Adam Lee is a sophomore, and this is his first year on staff. This year, he’s the copy co-editor for the WSS web edition. Outside of school, Adam plays for the Iowa Soccer Club, paints with watercolors and plays guitar.