Alyssa Ridenour
reporter@greenepublishing.com
Lance Thigpen is the 16-year-old son of Larry and Carolyn Thigpen. He is currently attending Madison County High School (MCHS) and is in his junior year. His instrument of choice is the saxophone, which he has been playing since the fifth grade.
Oscar Suy-Perez is the 16-year-old son of Antonio Suy-Gonzalez and Camilla Perez. As a member of the MCHS band, his instrument of choice is the clarinet, which he has been playing since the eighth grade.
On Saturday, Feb. 13, Thigpen and Suy-Perez qualified for state, and on Wednesday, April 7, they made their submissions for the state competition. In previous years, competitors would perform in front of a judge. However, due to COVID restrictions, the state band competition was held virtually. Each competitor prerecorded themselves playing their instrument of choice and submitted it online for review by the judges.
Competitors were graded on a scale of one to five, with one being the best and five being the worst. Thigpen and Suy-Perez both scored a two, otherwise called, “excellent.” The students are the first of MCHS Band Director James DeLuca's students to attend state since the start of his employment with MCHS.
“I am really proud of their hard work this year, not just on their solos but as leaders of the band,” said DeLuca. “They are also both very talented musicians. They worked very hard for those solos and to be able to compete. Just being able to go to state was a huge honor. I was happy to see them qualify but also happy to see them compete and do as well as they did at the state level.”