News

NHHS percussionist chosen for All-American D-Day Band

By Eilah Wood, Special to the Lightning, Published: June 2, 2022

Tyler Houston, a rising senior at North Henderson High School, was chosen to represent the U.S. in the All-American Band for the 79th anniversary of D-Day next June in Normandy, France.

Houston is one of 125 members from the class of 2023 selected to perform as musical ambassadors. The students will perform in Sainte-Mère-Église, the first town liberated by American paratroopers during the D-Day battle.
In order to be selected for the band, students were required to be nominated by a band director then complete their own application. NHHS band director Steve Sigmond nominated Houston.
“He’s always looking for opportunities to go and further his opportunities as a percussionist,” Sigmond said.
Houston, who plays percussion, has been a member of the high school marching band since eighth grade. However, he remembers as a fourth grader watching YouTube videos of high school drum lines.
While other members of the band play one instrument, in the percussion section “you’re getting to play all these different things to make the cool sounds,” he said.
Houston reflected on the day he found out he was accepted for the All-American band.
“I accidentally tapped on the email as it came up on my phone,” he said, “and I saw that I got the selection email. I almost ran back inside to tell my band director.”
The All-American Band will perform the ceremonial music for the officially recognized commemoration and wreath laying ceremonies at the Brittany and Normandy American Cemeteries and Memorials, and in the historic village of Sainte-Mère-Église it will perform in the International Salute to Liberation and lead the D-Day Memorial Parade. Band members get all-expense paid travel to Washington, D.C., Normandy and Paris. At the scene of the pivotal battle of World War II in Europe, Houston said, he expects “something totally surreal and special.”