Deanna Blake, piano

Deanna began playing the violin in 2017 in the 5th grade and continued to play up until the end of 8th grade, before switiching to piano in March of this year.  She will enter 9th grade this year at Maurice J. McDonough High School, play on the JV volleyball team, and take several honors courses. Over the past four years, she has played in two elementary school concerts at Berry Elementary School and several middle school concerts for Davis Middle School. After high school, Deanna hopes to one day to become an architect. She plans to go to the College of Southern Maryland in 2026 to pursue a degree in drafting and to transfer to Morgan or Howard University in 2028 to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture & Environmental Design and a Master of Science degree in Architecture. An interesting tidbit about Deanna is that she was once the Virginia State/Regional Jiu-Jitsu champion for the Gi/No gi age 7-10 and has black belts in Taekwon-do, Hapkido, and Tang Soo Do.

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Haley Gruwell, flute

Haley is a homeschooled high school junior and has been playing the flute for five years. She has been a student of Lucy Snell for the past four years. In 2021, she joined the Charles County Youth Orchestra (CCYO) as principal flutist, and in 2022 was one of two first place winners of the CCYO’s  Concerto Competition. She has recently been selected to take part in the National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellowship.

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Aaron Sellow, clarinet

Aaron plays clarinet with the Charles County Youth Orchestra.

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Amelia Weilke, saxophone​

Amelia has played the alto saxophone for 5 1/2 years. She was a part of the Archbishop Neale School band for 5 years, Encore band for 1 year, and has performed with the Southern Maryland Jazz Orchestra. She is going into her freshman year at St. Mary's Ryken High School and is excited to participate in their musical program. She has received an Archdiocesan Music Program Certificate of Merit for her role in the Archbishop Neale School band and two Fine Arts Scholarships for St. Mary's Ryken High School in both Band and Theater. She hopes to continue developing her musical skills.

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Luke Weilke, trumpet

Luke has been a trumpet player for 7 years. Currently playing as principal trumpet for Saint Mary’s Ryken under a scholarship for music, he has previously played in the Charles County Youth Orchestra Encore Band and Archbishop Neale School Band. His main motivation for playing trumpet music is playing music from all across the world.