“May the odds be ever in your favor,” is more than just a catchphrase used in “Hunger Games.” It can be used to determine who will be selected for the 44th year of the Hart District Honor Band.
The Hart District Honor Band is a tradition of selecting the best band students at junior high and high school levels to form an “all-star” honor band, where only the outstanding students are selected.
Over 531 students participated in hopes of getting into the honor band this year, but only the best of the best can earn a spot.
This year, Castaic High School was picked to host the district honor band auditions, which spanned from January 23 to January 24, two days of selecting students from the 531 to perform in the Honor band.
Seven out of the 531 picked for Honors Band are Castaic Students: Junior, Abram Gonzalez – (Flute) – 8th Chair, Sophomore, Dalia Aguilar – (Flute) – 10th Chair, Senior, Nicole Mobasser – (Oboe) – Principal Chair, Sophomore, Aidan Rodriguez – (Clarinet) – 8th Chair, Junior, Morgan Montemayor – (Trombone) – 4th Chair, Junior, Brayan Garcia Flores -( Tuba) – Principal Chair, and Senior, Liam Lafferty – (Tuba) – 4th Chair.
Students were assigned an audition date and time at Castaic High School to showcase their instrumental performance and earn a spot.
“My experience was very nerve wracking just like [my] previous [audition], I was in a room where everyone played the same instrument, [the tuba]. [After my audition] I received the principal chair, which is basically first in the district,” expressed junior, Brayan Garcia Flores.
Auditioning students played several scales, etudes, and excerpts for a panel of judges, the band directors of the Hart District.
“[I] felt more at home auditioning for the honor band since it was held at Castaic High School. I’ve played the given songs they gave me in December, which I practiced till the day of the audition. During the day of the audition, I was ready to show off my skills,” said sophomore, Aidan Rodriguez.
After being given scores and feedback the top students of each instrument are selected to join the honor band, only 12 students are taken for each instrument.
“I’ve been in the Hart District Honor Band since I was in eighth grade, so I was excited to experience it again. All the people who play the same instrument in the entire Hart District would go into a room, basically they’ll have to play basic exercises, [chromatic scale or B flat major scale],” stated junior, Morgan Montemayor.
The student who scores the highest out of the 12 students earns the principal chair, the leader of a specific instrument section.
“This [was] my third year doing the audition, it was less nerve-wracking than last year, [so] I felt more confident since Castaic High School was more familiar to me than auditioning at another school,” shared senior Nicole Mobasser.
The selected students meet for two rehearsals at either Rancho Pico Junior High for junior high students and Hart High school for high school students, then perform their honor band concert at Hart High School.
This year the Honor Band concert is Saturday March 7, 2026, at 6:30 PM and tickets are 20 dollars at the door.
This is a huge accomplishment for the selected Castaic Students, their efforts in band have gotten them a role in the Hart District Honor Band. For more information about the Honor Band Concert, please contact Mr. Eugene Kim, [email protected]
