On Jan. 22, four members of the Albert Lea High School bands and four members of the Southwest Middle School bands attended the Southeast Region Honor Bands of the Minnesota Band Directors Association.

ALHS band students Jacob Kunkel (percussion), Maria Silva (flute), Katie Callahan (clarinet) and Robin Crawford (baritone saxophone) were members of the ninth- and 10th-grade honor band and Southwest Middle School band students Katie Rasmussen (trumpet), Francesca Eckstrom (trumpet) Kayla Overland (trombone) and Sam Ware (percussion) were members of the sixth- through eighth-grade honor band.

Held at Rochester Century High School, the bands featured 141 students from 39 schools throughout southeast Minnesota. The day included significant rehearsal time and a short amount of time with volunteer section coaches. The event culminated with a concert held in the Century High School Auditorium.

The SEMBDA sixth- through eighth-grade honor band was conducted by Myron Haug from Winona Senior High School, while the ninth- and 10th-grade honor band was conducted by Dr. Donald Lovejoy of Winona State University.