Manatee students selected for All-County Orchestra

Bravo to Manatee’s All-County Orchestra student musicians who will perform at the State College of Florida’s Neel Performing Arts Center on Oct. 3. They were selected through a blind audition, learning materials and playing before a curtain hiding the judges.

Read more Will race matter more than party in Florida’s governor election?

The High School Honor Orchestra musicians include …

Manatee: Emersyn Lee, Paxten Lee, James Lovell, Ezequiel Valenzuela and Sayana Yonahara.

Lakewood Ranch: Elizabeth Argo, Hailey Birkin, Kai Carlson, Elena Gates, Mariell Martinez Reyes, Stella Percoco, Preston Stanoch and Amira Sulemani.

Braden River: Matthew Foster.

Parrish: Kelvin Cardona-Morales, Elijah Duremdez, Malin Ison and Thien Nguyen.

Palmetto: Angelo Ali, Shealyn Jaeger and Reef Stinson.

Out-of-Door: Nathaniel Loretan, Shaan Pandy and Brody Rose.

Saint Stephen’s: Noah Dam.

Southeast: Grace Kwan.

Home school: Khloe Kenyon.

Their conductor will be Dr. Robyn Bell, director of the Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota.

The Middle School Honor Orchestra artists are …

Braden River: Briana Nguyen, Hoang Yen Nguyen, Mikey Pellegrino and Martin Torres.

Buffalo Creek: Eva Arab, Sophia Guerrero, Briella Kerr-Smith, McKenna Moore, Emilia Sarakine, Kylee Smith and Vanessa Valle.

Haile: Mia Black, Aubrey Kane, Giada Misiewicz, Tavaris Porter Jr. and Ralf Samuel Yap.

King: Oliwia Smykowska.

Manatee School of the Arts: Jack Lehrer.

Nolan: Myla Gann, Sofia Lara Costa Guimaraes, Emma Goodhue, Amy Luce, Katelyn McIntyre, Anali Ritter Gonzalez, Collin Sawyer, Ethan Schaefer, Jaxon Sheffield, Zamora Turner, Emma Valentin and Ethan Zhang.

Out-of-Door: Camilla Chamorro, Magnus Kaminsky, Jaso Mayden, Hudson Turek and Jaden Williams.

Rowlett: Emma Bentley.

Saint Stephen’s: Andrea O’Daly.

Their conductor will beDr. Katarzyna Bugaj from Florida State University.

· That’s 43 years of wedded bliss for Janet and Mike Smith.

· A bow to 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists Andrew Temple, Julian Vallarta (Lakewood Ranch); Aidan Cody (Southeast); Andy Dai (Saint Stephen’s); and Ursula Paquin, Yu Suefuji (IMG).

· Congrats to Savanna Lara, sworn in as a Deputy Clerk at the Manatee County Clerk of Courts.

Read more 91% of Florida readers fear what AI data centers could cost them

· Erin McIntyre is 21.

· Props to Palmetto High football coach Eric Sanders, recently named Tampa Bay Bucs Coach of the Week.

· Maryann Garcia is 39. Again.

· So is Tiffany Leffert.

· Kathleen Powers, too.

· And Lynn Pierce.

· Well done to Southeast High volleyball setter and IB senior Sofia Calomeni Abreu Mendes, ABC7’s Athlete of the Month.

· Brittany Wilson is 36.

· And big ups to Phil Bradley, named among the Seattle Mariners Top 50 players for its 50th anniversary last month.

A volunteer assistant for son Curt Bradley, Southeast’s head football coach, the 1985 All-Star played five seasons with the M’s, hitting .301 with 112 doubles, 26 triples, 52 home runs, 234 RBI and stole 107 bases.

A third-round pick in 1981, the former star Missouri quarterback was also part of baseball history during an eight-year career that included the Phillies, Orioles and White Sox.

On April 29, 1986, Bradley was the 20th and final M’s batter struck out by Roger Clemens when the Red Sox legend set the major league record for most strikeouts in a nine-inning game.

On Aug. 8, 1988, Bradley, as the Phillies leadoff hitter, homered on Cubs ace Rick Sutcliffe’s fourth pitch in Wrigley Field’s first night. But the game got rained out and wiped from the record books.

Bradley donated the bat to the Hall of Fame.

Vin’s People runs Sundays. Email Vin Mannix at [email protected]. Or call 941-962-5944.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee students selected for All-County Orchestra

Read more No. 12 Southern California outlasts Rutgers in Big Ten shootout

Reporting by Vin Mannix, Special to the Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published September 20, 2026 at 5:30 AM.