2026 All-State Orchestra
The conductor of the 2026 Missouri All-State Orchestra will be Sharon Lavery from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. Ms Lavery conducted the Missouri All-State Orchestra in 2019 and we’re thrilled to have her join us again!
Praised for her passionate and insightful interpretations, Sharon Lavery is known for connecting with audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Since 2007 she has been music director of the Downey Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble hailed as one of the best metropolitan orchestras in Southern California. Ms. Lavery has appeared as guest conductor with numerous orchestras, including the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, Vermont Symphony, Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, and La Jolla Symphony, just to name a few. For several years she held the post of cover conductor for the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, and she has also served as cover conductor for the San Diego Symphony. She has been the assistant conductor of the Pasadena Symphony, the associate conductor of the Herbert Zipper Orchestra of Los Angeles, and has also served as music director of the MUSE International Music Day Festival in Chiba, Japan. In addition, Lavery has made recordings at Warner Bros studio in Burbank, CA, and with Delos Records, Inc.
In conjunction with her professional duties, Ms. Lavery serves as Resident Conductor of the Thornton Symphony, Chamber Orchestra, and Wind Ensemble at the USC Thornton School of Music. She has led USC’s ensembles in concert on countless occasions, and served as music director of the Thornton Concert Orchestra for seven years. In addition to these duties at USC, Lavery teaches instrumental conducting and is Chair of the Winds and Percussion Department.
Ms. Lavery is also known as an advocate for music education. She has conducted several All-State orchestras and wind ensembles throughout the United States, and she has served on the conducting faculty of the Interlochen Arts Camp and the International Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall.
Hailing from Ossining, New York, Lavery received her Bachelor of Music Education from Michigan State University, and Master of Music in Clarinet Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. She also earned a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from USC Thornton where she was awarded the Leonard Bernstein Memorial Scholarship.
2026 All-State Orchestra Members
Violin I
Nathan Bauer, Kirkwood High School
Elise Bolyard, Park Hill High School
Roman Bunn, Kickapoo High School
Eric Chang, John Burroughs School
Carter Chen, Kirkwood High School
Gavin Chiles, Kirkwood High School
Ian Chung, Parkway West High School
Matthew Fang, Liberty High School
Y. Elizabeth Hung, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Klaus Jostlein , St. Louis University High School
Yejun (Aiden) Moon, Parkway Central High School
Jean Park, Marquette High School
Jason Shi, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Charis Shing, Parkway West High School
Jocelyn Ybarra, Glendale High School
Claire Zhou, Marquette High School
Violin II
Zoe Baldwin, Clayton High School
Nathaniel Bian, Marquette High School
Eric Chen, Marquette High School
Lydia Fahrenholtz, Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School
Luke Jeans, Clayton High School
Isabel Lau, Parkway Central High School
Henna Lee, Parkway Central High School
Austen Pabon, Lee’s Summit West High School
Emily Roberts, Westminster Christian Academy
Yiding Tang, John Burroughs School
Kyler Wang, Parkway West High School
Molly Wang, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Sam Wenger-Stickel, Westminster Christian Academy
Sophy Wickham-Zhou, Central High School
Evie Wilcher, Fort Zumwalt West High
Adam Yu, Clayton High School
Violin Alternates
Rane Erickson, Blue Springs High School
Lucas Ruan, Clayton High School
Lily Finkel, David H. Hickman High School
Elizabeth Myers, Westminster Christian Academy
Viola
Preston Elliott, Liberty North High School
Madison Gong, Central High School
Anna Ko, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School
Haowen Liu, Clayton High School
Enkela Ndoni, Webster Groves Highschool
Katherine Nguyen, Clayton High School
John Olson, Liberty North High School
Moses Pavon, Parkview High School
Cheng Peng, Parkway South High School
Joy Shin, Parkway West High School
Cameron Taylor, Lee’s Summit West High School
Carson VanNess, Lee’s Summit West High School
Maxwell Willoughby, Kirkwood High School
Max Zeng, Clayton High School
Viola Alternates
Reid Huntley, Eureka High School
Benjamin Van Dyken, Clayton High School
Cello
Ellie Chen, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School
Lucas Cheng, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School
Carson Crockett, Staley High School
Michael Fang, Liberty High School
Robert Flick, McCluer North High School
Samuel Garrett, Webster Groves High School
Alexander Guo, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Sylvia Kennedy, Clayton High School
Aiden Kim, Clayton High School
Aston Liang, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Noah Lipe, John Burroughs School
Steven Shaw, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Andrew Su, Clayton High School
Gergo Szilagyi, Ladue Horton Watkins Highschool
Cello Alternates
Joaquin Saldaña, Kirkwood High School
Tyler He, Clayton High School
Double Bass
Sabrina Bush, Hazelwood West Highschool
Sam Crowe, Lindbergh High School
Noah Dehler, Kirkwood High School
Anabel Espinal, Kirkwood High School
Harris Falk, Kirkwood High School
Lyric Green, Parkway Central High School
Eric Mao, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Isaiah Smith, Kirkwood High School
Double Bass Alternates
Lucia Mariscal, Kirkwood High School
Colin Andrews, Central High School
Harp
Adelaide Phillips, David H. Hickman High School
Double Bass player for the 2026 All-State Band
Chase Brodeur, Central High School
2026 Honorable Mention Orchestra
Violin
Griffin Byrne, David H. Hickman High
Maheeka Dhokarh, Clayton High School
Rane Erickson, Blue Springs High School
Andrew Fei, John Burroughs School
Lily Finkel, David H. Hickman High School
Elizabeth Garrett, Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience
Sia Girivaru, Clayton High School
Cecelia Hahn, Lindbergh High School
Yuntian Hao, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Ethan Kim, Rock Bridge High School
Beck Linton, Lindbergh High School
Brayden Miao, Central High School
Evelyn Monzyk, Parkway Central Highschool
Elizabeth Myers, Westminster Christian Academy
Sabrina Perng, Clayton High School
Hannah Rico, Glendale High School
Lucas Ruan, Clayton High School
Sienna Staten, Kirkwood High School
Iris Weber, David H. Hickman High School
Alisha Yin, Parkway West
Viola
George Bohl, Lindbergh High School
Esther Borgmeyer, Kirkwood High School
Theo Branch, Parkway West High School
Andrew Fei, John Burroughs School
Matteo Fernandez, Lafayette High School
Reid Huntley, Eureka High School
Ian Jenkins, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Cali Jenson, Raymore Peculiar High School
Aaditya Khatavkar, Parkway Central High School
Yuhan Liu, Clayton High School
Joseph Potratz, Staley High School
Elizabeth Smith, Rock Bridge High School
Benjamin Van Dyken, Clayton High School
Cello
Ian Cho, Parkway West High School
Kiran Green, Rock Bridge High School
Tyler He, Clayton High School
Eileen Hinners, Parkway Central High School
Nick Kim, Parkway Central High School
Yuze Li, Clayton High School
Owen Petersen, Park Hill South High School
Zachary Richardson, Faith Christian Academy
Joaquin Saldaña, Kirkwood High School
Nathan Smith, Kirkwood High School
Double Bass
Joshua Adams, Park Hill High School
Colin Andrews, Central High School
Bennett Howe, Davis H. Hickman High
Lucia Mariscal, Kirkwood High School
Cash Qualls, Lee’s Summit North High School
Bailey Yokley , Lee’s Summit West High School
