By Tim SchmidtRecord Managing EditorThe Wright City High School concert band will have the privilege of performing in front of the top music educators in the state.The band was one of seven selected from across the state to play at the Missouri Music Educators Association Conference at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach Jan. 27-30.The conference is attended by the majority of the state’s music educators from the elementary to college level.Other bands that will perform will represent Wentzville Holt, Jefferson City, Blue Springs South, Salisbury, Clayton, Nixa Junior High School and Fort Zumwalt North Middle School.The groups were picked out of 172 entries after an out-of-state panel judged their audition recordings.The Wright City band is under the direction of Schaffer, who is entering his 16th year at the high school, and Assistant Director Emily Huber, who is in her ninth year with the district. Combined, they have 36 years of experience leading a band program.“We have never been at that level with the concert band,” Schaffer said. “This was the first time we had sent in an audition. Honestly, we didn’t think we would get selected.“You’re playing for a very different audience. It’s always fun playing for your parents and home people,” he said. “This is playing for basically 1,000 to 2,000 music educators. They know exactly how it is supposed to sound like.”The band program had considered auditioning in past years, but ran into troubles with the band room’s acoustics during past recordings. This year, they had assistance from Scott Harris, of Shh Productions, during a four-hour recording session.“We have talked and talked about,” Huber said. “We finally decided it was time to do it.”Then one morning this summer, Huber learned of the concert band’s selection and immediately contacted Schaffer.“There was a lot of screaming,” he said.Two other performances are on the schedule for the new school year.The concert band is the only high school group invited to play in the E. Desmond Lee Showcase at St. Louis’ Powell Symphony Hall Nov. 6. It will also compete in the Heritage Music Festival in Atlanta in March.With the three performances, an additional day of practice has been added to the weekly schedule.“We met the kids at camp and we said it will be the single busiest year in the history of this band,” Schaffer said. “That is definitely not an understatement this time.”Both Schaffer and Huber are anxious to see their band and students’ talent on display.“You want to have your best performance your group has ever had,” Schaffer said. “There is a lot of preparation time. A lot is going to go into it. You want something you can play well, but you want to push the level.”MMEA