On Saturday April 27th, 35 5th & 6th Grade Band students from O’Neill traveled to Neligh to rehearse and perform in the 2024 Nate Metschke Memorial 5th & 6th Grade Honor Band. The was the 14th annual Elementary Honor Band, created by the late Nate Metschke. Nate was a Chambers graduate and Neligh-Oakdale Music teacher before his passing in 2018. The 5th grade band was under the direction of Mrs. Sandy Murphy-Robb, music instructor at Scott Middle School in Lincoln. The 6th grade band was conducted by Nolan Schmit as well as Duane DeVries. Nolan taught in Orchard, and currently teaches in Lincoln, where he is also the “Voice of the Cornhusker Marching Band”. Nolan composed a song just for this honor band entitled “The Metschke March”. This song was commissioned by 40 Nebraska Band directors in honor of Nate Metschke. Because Duane DeVries was Nate’s childhood band director in Chambers, he was asked to be the conductor for the world premiere of this song at this honor band. “Nate was a great man. He was a loving husband, a caring dad, and a passionate music teacher. His love for music was only overshadowed by his love for the kids. The honor band is a testament to what Nate believed in – kids making music and having fun. The Metschke March is our humble way of honoring Nate’s legacy. It’s also our way of saying thank you to Nate.” commented consortium organizer Chad Dean while he was introducing the song.
Participating from O’Neill were:
5th Graders – Mya McCormick, Halle Prouty, Erandi Pantoju, Madison Wettlaufer, Hugh York, Declan Baribeau, Laure Otte, Megan Gleason, Hayden Nueheisel, Pierce Wiseman, Tyce Parks, Bennett Spangler, Jasper York, Noah Wiekamp, Blake Bolender, and Will Jenson 6th graders – Adelle Fyok, Lauren Jackson, Davinee Fredrick, Tandi Shoemaker, Vera Seger, Khloe Wray, Kale Kelly, Akshot Chaudhari, Zoey Hilger, Hailey Gartner, Marissa Grosch, Kyler Wettlaufer, Bannon Wecker, Liana Murphy, Brody Spencer, Ryder Novak, Jaiden Owens, Anne Wlaschin, and Aiden Krause
