39 Hopkins Students Earn Spots in the Southern Region High School Ensembles

Last month, approximately 30 schools in southern Connecticut sent jazz, band, treble choir, mixed choir, and orchestra musicians to compete for top honors at the Connecticut Music Educators’ Association’s (CMEA) Regional Festival auditions. It was announced this week that 39 Hopkins students earned spots in the Southern Region High School Ensembles, 27 more than any other school. 

Eighteen Hopkins students make up the CMEA Regional Orchestra alone, accounting for about 20% of the entire ensemble. The 2024–2025 season marks the second consecutive year that Hopkins has had more students audition successfully for the Regional Orchestra than any other school. The next two most-represented schools in the orchestra had 12 and 9 students. The remaining 20 schools are each represented by three or fewer students.

At a morning assembly, Art Department Chair and Director of Instrumental Music Bobby Smith proudly announced the news.

“Very few students can be selected for top regional honors, and to even have one student from a school make it into an ensemble is a mark of distinction,” he exclaimed, as the Hopkins community cheered for the standing students chosen for the festival. “It just so happens that Hopkins had 39 marks of distinction!”

Looking ahead, the selected Hopkins students will attend the CMEA Festival in mid-January, followed by auditions for the All-State Festival in February.

See the list below for the names of the Hopkins students selected for the CMEA Southern Region High School Festival.

Yiannis Kaparakis ’27 (Alto Sax)

Charles Clark ’28 (Baritone Sax)

Isaac Kim ’27 (Bb Clarinet)

Greta Lee ’28 (Bb Clarinet)

Amelia Andersson ’28 (Mallets)

Thomas Sang ’26 (Snare & Accessories)

Rebecca Li ’27 (Tenor Sax)

Timothy Edwards ’28 (Trombone)

Angel Lu ’28 (Trombone)

Ashley Deng ’27 (Alto)

Lora Kenyon ’28 (Alto)

Claire Li ’28 (Alto)

Isha Seth ’28 (Alto)

Eleanor Lee ’25 (Soprano)

Nia McKeithen ’26 (Soprano)

Kaelin Vasseur ’25 (Soprano)

Quinby Berry ’26 (Tenor)

David Blair ’26 (Tenor)

Ben Kruger ’26 (Tenor)