LHS Pair Selected For National Honor Orchestra

LHS musicians Ryan Detwiler (left) and Jimmy Toner will represent Lakewood High in the All-National Honor Symphony Orchestra in Nashville in October.

For the fourth year in a row, Lakewood High school will be represented at the National Association for Music Education’s All-National Honor Symphony Orchestra as sophomore violinist Ryan Detwiler and junior cellist Jimmy Toner have been selected to perform with the ensemble. 

This is Toner’s second selection for the national group as he also was a member of the prestigious ensemble his sophomore year as well. Detwiler and Toner will join about 62 other top-performing student musicians in the country to form this year’s All-National Symphony Orchestra.

The duo will rehearse and perform with renowned conductors when they travel to Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 25 for three days of rehearsals capped off with a performance on Oct. 28 at the Grand Ole Opry as part of NAfME’s Music Education Week. The National Honor Orchestra will be joined in that performance by the national honor ensembles for Band, Mixed Choir and Jazz Band.

“The Lakewood music program is very proud of Ryan and Jimmy. Because of their commitment to musical excellence as well as the opportunities provided to them through the Lakewood music program, they have been able to attain one of the highest honors bestowed upon any high school musician,” LHS Orchestra Director Elizabeth Hankins said. “In total, the Lakewood orchestra program has been represented six times in the past 20 years” in the All-National Honor Orchestra.

Sophomores, juniors and seniors from across the country were eligible to audition and had to submit a two-minute audition piece. To be eligible to audition, a musician must also have been selected to his or her All-State Orchestra.