Shamus Warden has tried various sports at North Whidbey Middle School.

But to him, nothing quite compares to performing in the school band.

“It’s 10 times better,” said Warden. “I’m better at it.”

Warden is one of three North Whidbey Middle School band students who were selected to perform with the Washington Music Educators Association Junior All-State Band in Yakima in February.

Trombonists David Lail and Aiden McCarthy will join Warden, who plays the clarinet, at the event, which brings together the state’s top middle school students in band, choir and orchestra for a single day under one roof to practice and ultimately perform a concert.

The three eighth graders will be joined by schoolmate Jenna DeBourge, a seventh grader who excels in choir.

All four were selected after judges evaluated their recorded auditions. In total, 1,784 students auditioned to participate in the Feb. 13 event, which gives students an opportunity to learn from top music educators.

About 300 were picked to go to Yakima.

Dedication and extra practice on their own time are typically part of the formula to earn such recognition, said Andrew Judd, North Whidbey Middle School’s band director.

“It’s above and beyond anything I expect a normal student to do,” Judd said.

Other students from Oak Harbor Public Schools headed to the Yakima event include four from the high school.

They are band member Garrett Dutcher and choir students Katie Lof, Adam Nelson and Claire Ringer.

Dutcher, a senior, participates in band and choir at Oak Harbor, however, will be a member of the All-State concert band playing oboe in Yakima.

The high school event is Feb. 10-14. It is made up of 1,030 musicians out of the 2,559 who auditioned.

Lof also is a senior who is part of the Wildcats’ Harbor Singers and Treble Choir and has played big roles in the school’s drama productions. She will be a member of the All-State symphonic choir as a first soprano.

Nelson, a junior, is part of the Harbor Singers and Chamber Choir. He is going to All-State as a second tenor.

Ringer, a freshman in Harbor Singers and Chamber Choir, is the youngest student to perform with the Harbor Singers in Darren McCoy’s eight years as the school’s choral director. She is going to All-State for soprano 1.

“We haven’t had anybody go to All-State for a little while,” McCoy said. “It’s kind of far away and is expensive so we haven’t had anybody audition for it.”

The experience proves to be invaluable for students and benefits others, McCoy said.

“They go to the festival, learn new songs and techniques and bring it back and teach it to the group,” he said.

North Whidbey Middle School is sending a band student to All-State for the fifth year in a row.

All of the Cougars’ All-State instrumentalists are three-year band students.

“They’ve worked extremely hard,” Judd said. “Aiden and David are both trombonists who haven’t had any private lessons. That’s pretty remarkable to to get into the All-State band without having a tutor.”

Remarkable for all the Cougars, he admitted.

“I’m really proud of them,” Judd said.