<![CDATA[GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS BAND & ORCHESTRA BOOSTERS

<![CDATA[GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS BAND & ORCHESTRA BOOSTERS - PAST NEWS]]>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:01:06 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[WELCOME, MR. PELPHREY!]]>Sun, 28 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.grandviewhtsband.org/past-news/welcome-mr-pelphreyThe GHS pollinator gardens along with a beautiful evening of blue skies and puffy

clouds provided a scenic backdrop for our welcome event last week. Students and parents from across all grade levels joined us to welcome Logan Pelphrey and his wife Anita to the Grandview Heights family. Enjoy a few photos from the evening below.

Big thanks to everyone who joined us!

(Updated June 28, 2026)

]]><![CDATA[BUT WAIT -WE HAVEN'T FINISHED YET!]]>Tue, 12 May 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.grandviewhtsband.org/past-news/but-wait-we-havent-finished-yetWhile the final formal concerts are indeed in our rearview mirrors, our band, jazz, and orchestra students are still busy busy BUSY with other end of the year activities

Just over a week ago, our 7th and 8th grade band and orchestra students participated in our fourth annual “home adjudication” and King’s Island day. The former experience is similar to when the high school band heads off to OMEA large group adjudication, except we bring local educators in to work with our students at Grandview instead of traveling off site. Our students spent a Saturday morning performing for and working with their guest evaluators, who provide great feedback and a new perspective and learning experience for the students. We are always impressed at how seriously the students take this activity and how much they get from the experience - especially knowing what awaits them on the other end!

GHBOB thanks Sells Middle School band director Wendy Reeves, and Vince Huzicka, an orchestra conductor at Upper Arlington who also serves as assistant conductor and operations coordinator for the Columbus Youth Symphony Orchestra, for working with our students! Enjoy a few photos of the students in action, below.

After working hard all morning, our students and a few brave parent chaperones boarded buses and headed down to King’s Island for a day of fun - if slightly chilly - team bonding on the rides and roller coasters. Here are a few more photos from that part of the day, including a viral Facebook moment involving our favorite bus driver!

Finally, our 7 O'Clock Jazz students and the GHHS Jazz Ensemble took to the stage one last time, on the outdoor stage at Grandview Heights Public Library for "Jazz on the Lawn" last week. It was such a treat to hear them filing the air with music, and for our seniors especially it was one last opportunity to jam together, before graduation. Here are some pics from that event.

Stay tuned next week, as our GHHS Marching Band students perform at the City's annual Memorial Day Blue Star Mother's ceremony on Thursday evening, before leading the parade on Saturday morning. And just like that, it's summer in Grandview Heights!

]]><![CDATA[A WEEK OF WONDERFUL MUSICAL CELEBRATIONS!]]>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.grandviewhtsband.org/past-news/a-week-of-wonderful-musical-celebrationsLast week was a true celebration of music, as all of our instrumental music groups gave their final home concerts of the school year in rapid succession.

The GH Orchestra program kicked it off on Tuesday with students in grades 5 through 12 performing on the stage at GHHS. Mr. Stanley celebrated and recognized solo and ensemble and honor band participants, and announced the students selected as Outstanding Orchestra Student in each performing ensemble. (For a full list of award winners, click here or see photos to the right.)

On Wednesday, our middle school bands took the stage. The 5th through 8th grade bands gave terrific year-ending performances, and gave individual students the opportunity to introduce each of the pieces performed. Mrs. Olis and Mr. Heath recognized honor band and solo and ensemble participants, and also shared the students selected by their peers as recipients of the Outstanding Musician, Band Citizenship, and Most Growth awards in each grade, as well as the recipients of the Directors’ Award. Mrs. Olis shared a heartfelt recognition and appreciation of Mr. Heath’s 33 years of teaching, and everyone wished him well in his retirement (and enjoyed a post-concert cookie in his honor)!

Finally, on Thursday evening, our high school band groups rounded out the week with their spring concert. The middle and high school members of the Seven O’clock Jazz groups kicked off the evening with a couple of numbers each, to get the crowd’s toes tapping. Our super talented Jazz Ensemble took over and really got things going, and then the Concert Band brought things home with some fun and fairly recognizable pop culture pieces of music and a couple of banging percussion ensembles. Mrs. Olis and Mr. Stanley recognized some student-selected and director-selected year-end awards, our honor band and solo and ensemble participants, and of course our ten graduating seniors. All in all, another beautiful night of music-making and celebrating!

Photos from all three concerts are available below. GHBOB congratulates all of our student musicians and award winners!

]]><![CDATA[CONGRATS TO OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL SOLO AND ENSEMBLE PARTICIPANTS!]]>Sat, 25 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.grandviewhtsband.org/past-news/congrats-to-our-middle-school-solo-and-ensemble-participantsOn Saturday April 18, a whopping 15 of our middle school instrumentalists headed to Dublin Scioto HS to perform solo or ensemble pieces at OMEA. We are thrilled to report

that each and every one of them achieved a superior or excellent rating (the two highest ratings available)! GHBOB congratulates the following students for going above and beyond to participate in this optional event:

Knox Boulton - 7th grade - snare drum solo
Lexie Brown - 8th grade - clarinet solo
Matilda Hopkins - 7th grade - violin solo
Zhucheng Hou - 7th grade - piano solo
Ella Krouse - 8th grade - alto sax solo
Olivia Lindamood - 7th grade - trumpet solo
Onahlee Markham - 7th grade - alto sax solo
Gus Ritzman - 7th grade - violin solo
Emily Warren - 8th grade - violin solo

Ellie Bills, Sylvia Lange - 8th grade - euphonium duet
Madi Burton, Maggie Ward - 8th grade, woodwind duet
Ramona Egner, Matilda Hopkins, Chloe Young - 7th grade - string trio

Also, a shout out to high school instrumental music student Tucker Betz for accompanying several of the soloists on piano as well - thank you, Tucker!

Enjoy some photos of a few of the proud participants below!

]]><![CDATA[CELEBRATING ANOTHER AMAZING BOBCAKE BASH WEEK!]]>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.grandviewhtsband.org/past-news/celebrating-another-amazing-bobcake-bash-weekFriends, now that the BOBCAKE BASH week is in our rearview mirror, we are thrilled to share that we will once again clear $10,000 in funds raised in support of our

band and orchestra students! GHBOB sends out a huge thank you to BOBCAKE BASH co-chairs Terra Welsh and Natalie Glenn, CAKEPOPS organizer Tessa Carrel, and the many many committee chairs and volunteers who once again helped us create the magic of this beloved community event and the important fundraising that comes with it.

We even want to thank Mother Nature, as we were so excited that the weather permitted the use of the GH Public Library's outdoor stage for the first time in the three-year history of our CAKEPOPS kickoff event! You can check out the photos of the beautiful weather, huge crowd of fans, and talented young musicians below.

Then the mayhem of the Friday night BOBCAKE BASH took over, and we gave away more than 350 cakes and probably a thousand times as many smiles, as you can see in these photos below.

GHBOB also appreciates the support of our Maestro Level sponsor School of Rock Columbus, and our Soloist Level sponsor Musicologie, as well as the dozens of local businesses who donated cakes, gift cards, and other great prizes for sale at our silent auction. Every little bit helps, and we are grateful for all of it. Congrats to all, for another amazing event!

]]><![CDATA[GHHS JAZZ ENSEMBLE PERFORMING WITH THE PROS]]>Mon, 30 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.grandviewhtsband.org/past-news/ghhs-jazz-ensemble-performing-with-the-prosRight before spring break this year, our GHHS Jazz Ensemble students had not one but two amazing opportunities to perform with amazing central Ohio professional jazz

talent.

First, our students shared the stage with Vaughn Weister’s Famous Jazz Orchestra, a 22-piece powerhouse known for its massive sound and dedication to the big band tradition. Wesiter's group performs regularly at Boulevard Presbyterian in Grandview Heights, but it is rare for high schoolers to collaborate with a professional ensemble of this caliber. And it was an electric atmosphere!

The next night, the students capped off their annual residency with the Jazz Arts Group with a home concert featuring a legend of the Columbus jazz scene, Bobby Floyd on piano. Performing with Bobby Floyd is a true "bucket list" moment for any musician. Floyd is a world-renowned organist and pianist who has toured with the Count Basie Orchestra and Ray Charles, and his soulfulness and virtuosity are unmatched. Along with Floyd, Zach Compston (percussion) from JAG mentored and performed alongside our students. It was an opportunity they will not soon forget!

Please enjoy a few photos below from both events, and join us in congratulating the GHHS Jazz Ensemble for these impressive collaborations!

]]><![CDATA[WINTER BAND WHIRLWIND!]]>Sat, 14 Mar 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.grandviewhtsband.org/past-news/winter-band-whirlwindMrs. Olis recently shared the following update:
The third quarter has been busy for the Grandview Heights Band Program

Both Isla Swisher (tenor sax, 10th grade) and Rose Ritzman (alto sax, 9th grade) were selected to participate in The Ohio State University Honor Band Festival. Over 900 individual student nominations were submitted by band directors from nine states for this year's event. 270 musicians representing over 150 high schools were selected for the three honor bands. Unfortunately the event ended up being cancelled due to weather, however, both ladies will be invited back to perform next year.

Over President's Day Weekend, three GHHS band students and five LMS band students participated in the Ohio Wesleyan Honor Band.

LMS musicians Audrey Connell (clarinet, 8th grade), Avery Szabo-Ramsey (bassoon, 8th grade), Ellie Bills (euphonium, 8th grade), Ivy Edwards (clarinet, 7th grade), and Katie Edwards(clarinet, 7th grade) and GHHS musicians Charlotte Ritzman (flute, 11th grade), Isla Swisher (tenor sax, 10th grade), and Rose Ritzman (alto sax, 9th grade) were all selected by director nomination.

There were 2 middle school honor bands and 1 high school honor band at this event, with each group featuring around 90 gifted musicians from across the state of Ohio.

That same weekend, Max McCollough (horn, 11th grade) performed in the Wright State University Honor Band Festival. Max was selected by taped audition as the top horn player in the top ensemble!

On Monday, February 23, the Bowling Green Wind Symphony came to GHHS to perform a concert and participate in a side-by-side rehearsal with our high school musicians. It was quite the experience having 120+ musicians make music together in our high school gym! A BIG THANK YOU to our administration and LMS/GHHS teachers for their support of this event as well as our amazing custodial staff who were instrumental in getting the equipment set-up and torn down in the gym.

Closing out this update, this past Tuesday, March 3rd, the president of OMEA (Ohio Music Education Association) and retired Dublin Jerome HS band director, Brian Stevens, came to GHHS to clinic the high school band as they prepare for their OMEA District Contest performance on Friday, March 13. The students were focused and absorbed as much information as possible to improve their performance. Again, very proud of our students!

As always, we love seeing our Grandview band students going above and beyond and appreciate all of the support from the community, parents, administration, staff, et al!

She was right about those concert band students being focused - as they brought home a superior rating from their OMEA performance this past Friday!

(Updated March 14, 2026)

]]><![CDATA[SWEET, SWEET SOLO & ENSEMBLE SUCCESS]]>Sun, 25 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.grandviewhtsband.org/past-news/january-25th-2026On Saturday, January 17, eleven of our GHHS instrumental music students performed solos or in ensemble groups during the OMEA adjudicated events solo and ensemble

day at Pleasant View Middle School. And we are thrilled to report that every single one of them received a "superior" rating for their performance - the highest rating available! GHBOB congratulates the following students for putting in the time and effort necessary to achieve this amazing result:

Axel Farnham (freshman) - viola solo
Sydney Heren (freshman) - tenor sax solo
Max McCollough (junior) - horn solo
LouLou Rafailidis (sophomore) - violin solo
Charlotte Ritzman (junior) - flute solo
Rose Ritzman (freshman) - alto sax solo
Maura Yates (junior) - cello solo
Sydney Heren, Luke Lobao (senior), Rose Ritzman, Isla Swisher (sophomore) - sax quartet
Maddi Barger (freshman), Charlotte Ritzman, Callie Rutter (sophomore) - flute trio

GHBOB also gives a big shout out to our directors, Jennifer Olis and Thomas Stanley, for helping our students be so well prepared!

Interested in learning more about how your student can get involved in extended learning and performance opportunities like this? Talk to your student's director for details!

(Updated January 25, 2026)

]]><![CDATA[CONGRATS TO OUR HONOR BAND PARTICIPANTS!]]>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.grandviewhtsband.org/past-news/congrats-to-our-honor-band-participantsOn Saturday, November 8, 8th graders Avery Szabo-Ramsey (flute) and Ben Truett (trombone), and 7th graders Onahlee Markham (alto sax)

and Olivia Lindamood (trumpet) performed in the Ohio Music Education Association District 15 Middle School Honor Bands. They joined 200 musicians from around central Ohio for this special one day event.

In addition, on the weekend of November 14-15, sophomore Mira Bondy (clarinet), sophomore Isla Swisher (tenor sax), and junior Max McCollough (horn) all performed in the Capital University Honor Band Festival. They too joined over 200 dedicated and talented student musicians across the State of Ohio and beyond. Acceptance for this year’s Capital event was extremely competitive, with nearly 400 nominations from over 70 schools!

GHBOB congratulates all of these students for embracing these extended learning and performance opportunities!

]]><![CDATA[FUN TRIP FOR OUR 5TH AND 6TH GRADE STUDENTS]]>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMThttps://www.grandviewhtsband.org/past-news/fun-trip-for-our-5th-and-6th-grade-studentsOn Friday December 5, our 5th and 6th grade band and orchestra students headed over to Ohio State University to enjoy their annual Holiday Celebration of Music concert.

Presented in collage style with groups performing all around the auditorium, our students got to see and hear orchestra, jazz, band, and choral performances, and even got a peek at the OSU Marching Band. A few photos are below.

GHBOB is proud to support this annual activity, and grateful to all of you - our dedicated volunteers - for heeling raise the funds to make opportunities like this possible for our students!

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