Tamaqua High's Drew Bonner named to Pa. All-State Band

Drew Bonner, a senior band member at Tamaqua Area High School, has been selected, after intense and extensive auditioning to perform with the 2010 Pennsylvania All-State Band later this month.

The All-State Band is under the guest baton of Stephen Bolstad, director of bands at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

The performance will be held in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association annual In-Service Conference held in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Drew has represented Tamaqua in various levels of honor bands for the past four years. He has participated in County, District, Regional now State bands and choirs for the past four years as well as twice being selected for the Allentown Band Side-By-Side Concert.

n addition to all these festivals and honors ensembles, Drew plays and sings in all school ensembles and with the Coalcracker Chorus, the area chapter of the National Barber Shop Society. He is the piano accompanist with the Schuylkill Youth Symphony.

Among other awards and honors, Drew plans to attend Penn State University in Stage College and major in music education under the tutelage of Velvet Brown, Professor of Tuba and Euphonium Studies. Drew's life-long wish is to be a member of the incomparable Pennsylvania State Marching Blue Band.

Drew's private euphonium instructor is Mark Beltz of Tamaqua.

Drew is the younger son of Sandy and Joe Bonner of Tamaqua.