By Ashton Reely ray hen asked about a musical piece that personifies his love of music, Riverview High School senior Wesley Lamendola smiles slightly, as if he’s recalling a familiar friend. The words to Frank Ticheli’s “Earth Song” is what comes to his mind: “But music and singing have been my refuge, and music and singing shall be my light.” These lyrics, Wesley explains, perfectly describe what music has always been for him. Wesley has repeatedly made All-Region jazz, band, and choir, and has earned drum major honors from several marching band competitions. He also earned a spot in the All-State band and choir this year, the first Riverview student to ever do so. But his music-making won’t stop at his high school graduation: “Music is an infinite happiness for me,” he said. “I want to be able to share that happiness with others and teach others.” That’s why he is planning to major in music at Henderson State University. Between his band and choir endeavors, the university is giving him $10,000 a year in scholarship money. He was also this year’s recipient of the Arkansas Small Band Association Scholarship in the amount of $500. Band director Trey Reely wasn’t at all surprised: “Wesley is one of the best leaders I have ever had. He will make a great band or choir director someday.” Twin brothers David and Jonathan Yanes were instilled with the love of music from a very young age. “My dad was a pastor so we did the church band together with my sister and we all played together for a number of years,” Jonathan explains. Both brothers have had achievements at the All-Region and All Star competitions and have continually challenged each other to be better players. College, however, will be uncharted territory since the two have chosen to attend different universities. Jonathan names horn instructor Ashley Veatch as one of his biggest influences and credits her with introducing him to the University of Central Arkansas’s (UCA) music program and all that it offers. The university has offered him a yearly $3500 scholarship to be in their band program. While David won’t be majoring in music like his brother, he is still excited about joining several musical ensemble groups at Arkansas Tech University and is thinking about majoring in Spanish education. Jonathan recalls when he knew what collegiate path he wanted to take: “It’s when I realized that the only part of school that I very much enjoyed was going to band and being with my friends. That’s what I looked forward to. And that’s when I 84 Your Hometown Magazine
realized that’s what I would love to be doing the rest of my life.” Reely will miss the brothers and what they brought to the band program. “Jonathan played some very important horn solos the last two years and performed them well,” he said. “David is a versatile musician who has played saxophone in the jazz band and horn in marching and concert band.” Like David Yanes, senior Alyssa Lee won’t be majoring in music, but also felt like it wasn’t time for her musical journey to come to an end: “I didn’t want to cut it out all together,” she said. “I’m not going to major, but it’s still fun and creates bonds. I want to continue that bond.” An All-Region participant in choir, what Alyssa enjoys most about being in a musical group is that “it’s really cool to see the expressions on everyone’s faces and how they change-- and the emotion that we give to them. It just makes them feel good.” She is contemplating a major in English with a minor in Spanish and is attending ASU-Beebe before eventually transferring to the Jonesboro campus. Reely says that while Alyssa originally joined band to be a part of the color guard, she learned saxophone her junior year and served as an excellent flag captain. Andrew Warren’s musical start came from knowing his parents were both in band and wanting to continue in their footsteps; he names them as major influences, as well as his grandmother: “My grandma is also a big influence. On senior night, she actually drove 8 hours to see me.” The meaning of her act is clearly visible on his face. He also acknowledges Reely for pushing him to make AllRegion and never giving up on him. This year, his perseverance paid off and Warren made All-Region for the first time. Warren plans to major in music at Henderson State so he can “become a director like Mr. Reely.” Reely appreciates Andrew’s versatility as a musician and says he was fortunate to have him as a sousaphone, marching baritone, saxophone, and horn player at various times during his high school career. Senior Misty Anderson’s interest in music is also influenced greatly by family: “Seeing my sister play while I was growing up was really inspiring to me. Her band director was really cool, and I would come in as a kid and play the different instruments.” She recognizes director Trey Reely for continuing that inspiration. “I kept wanting to do better because of him; to impress him.” According to Reely, she did just that: “Misty is the most improved trumpet player I’ve ever had. She didn’t start trumpet until 9th