Creston Herron
Creston Herron is the newly appointed Director of Orchestral Activities for the University of Kansas and serves on the faculty of the Interlochen Arts Camp. Mr. Herron previously served as the Director of Fine Arts for the Klein Independent School District, Conductor of the Shepherd School of Music Campanile Orchestra at Rice University, Director of Orchestras at Klein High School and the Director of Orchestras for the Yes Prep Public Schools.
Mr. Herron’s recent engagements as a guest conductor include work with Regional and All State ensembles in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee and throughout Texas. He has also served on the summer faculty of the AFA Summer Music Festival, Stephen F. Austin University Summer Music Camp and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Summer Music Clinic.
As a dedicated pedagogue, Mr. Herron enjoys working with current and future educators and young performers. He has presented masterclasses and guest lectures at The Midwest Clinic, Rice University, Shepherd School of Music, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, University of Houston, Moores School of Music, Sam Houston State University, Texas Tech University, The American String Teachers Association, The League of American Orchestras, and the NAMM Believe in Music Webinar Series. He also gives professional development workshops to educators locally and nationally and is involved in judging UIL competitions and solo and ensemble contests.
Mr. Herron has enjoyed national recognition both as an educator and musician with orchestras earning multiple national titles under his direction, including being named national winner of The American Prize, Grand Champions of the ASTA National Orchestra Festival, Texas Music Educators Association State Honor Orchestra, Grand Champions of the New York Orchestra Cup and invited group at the 75th Midwest Clinic held in Chicago, Illinois. Individually he has gained recognition for his work in music education as the Teacher of the Year at Klein High School, awarded the Marjorie Keller Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award by the state board of the Texas Chapter of ASTA and the Spec’s Charitable Award for Excellence in Music Education awarded by the Houston Symphony.
Alongside his work as an educator, Mr. Herron continues to hone his performing skills as a violinist, having collaborated with artists such as Renee Fleming, Mark O’Connor, and Rachel Barton-Pine. He has performed with Da Camera of Houston, CCM Spoleto Festival in Italy, Galveston Symphony, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Pasadena Philharmonic, Eutiner Festspiele Opera in Eutin, Germany and the Houston Latin Philharmonic.
Creston Herron is a graduate of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, where he received his B.M. in music performance, Rice University, Shepherd School of Music in Houston, TX, where he received his M.M. on scholarship as a Provost Fellow and a Brown Scholar, and recently received a M.Ed in school leadership from Sam Houston State University.
Creston Herron resides in Kansas City with his wife, orchestra director Dawn Herron and their three children.
2025 All-State Orchestra Members
Bass
Gillian Calder, Liberty High School
Harry Falk, Kirkwood High School
Lyric Green, Parkway Central High School
Quinn Judge, Kirkwood High School
Katherine Klein, Kirkwood High School
Eric Mao, Ladue Horton Watkins Highschool
Jacob O’Toole, Park Hill High School
Isaiah Smith, Kirkwood High School
Bass Alternates
Cash Qualls, Lee’s Summit North High School
Anabel Espinal, Kirkwood High School
Cello
Holly Davis, Lindbergh High School
Abigail Deeter, Lindbergh High School
Michael Fang, Liberty High School
Eileen Hinners, Parkway Central High School
Aiden Kim, Clayton High School
Yohann Lee, Lafayette High School
Taochi Margaret Leung, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Noah Lipe, John Burroughs School
Steven Shaw, Ladue Horton Watkin High School
Andrew Su, Clayton High School
Gergo Szilagyi, Ladue Horton Watkins HighSchool
Torsten Taylor, Central High School
Langston Tervort, Liberty High School
Brody Van Wave, Fort Zumwalt North High School
Cello Alternates
Griffin Ray, Fort Zumwalt West High School
Aston Liang, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Viola
Sydney Bedell, Kirkwood High School
Natalie Coleman, Liberty North High School
Preston Elliott, Liberty North High School
Madison Gong, Central High School
Reid Huntley, Eureka High School
Aaditya Khatavkar, Parkway Central High School
Melanie Migneco, Lindbergh High School
Enkela Ndoni, Webster Groves High School
Katherine Nguyen, Clayton High School
Moses Pavon, Parkview High School
Brian Sequeira, Liberty High School
Joy Shin, Parkway West High School
Cameron Taylor, Lee’s Summit West High School
Jessica Wheatley, Lindbergh High School
Viola Alternates
Ted Henning, Rockhurst High School
John Olson, Liberty North High School
Violin I
Roman Bunn, Kickapoo High School
Eric Chen, Marquette High School
Ian Chung, Parkway West High School
Matthew Fang, Liberty High School
Sofia Heredia, David H. Hickman High School
Brandon Hu, John Burroughs School
Klaus Jostlein, St. Louis University High School
Asher Koh, Parkway Central High School
Naomi Meng, Central High School
Yejun (Aiden) Moon, Parkway Central High School
Jean Park, Marquette High School
Kyler Wang, Parkway West High School
Iris Wang, John Burroughs School
Samuel Wenger-Stickel, Westminster Christian Academy
Sophy Wickham-Zhou, Central High School
Jocelyn Ybarra, Glendale High School
Violin II
Anya Akhmadullina, David H. Hickman High School
Hayden Baker, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Zoe Baldwin, Clayton High School
Griffin Byrne, David H. Hickman High School
Nathan Chen, Park Hill High School
Carter Chen, Kirkwood High School
Elizabeth Hung, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Grace Li, Parkway Central High School
Haowen Liu, Clayton High School
Sarah Mu, Lafayette High School
Elizabeth Myers, Westminster Christian Academy
Lucas Ruan, Clayton High School
Jason Shi, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Yiding Ye, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Alisha Yin, Parkway West High School
Claire Zhou, Marquette High School
Violin Alternates
Elizabeth Garrett, Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience
Luke Jeans, Clayton High School
Duy Nguyen, Lee’s Summit North High School
Sophie Hughes, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Woodwinds
Flute I – Shang Jiang, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Flute II – Isabella Wang, John Burroughs School
Piccolo/Flute III – Hailey Wray, Lee’s Summit North High School
Clarinet I – Felix Zhang, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Clarinet II – Quinn Duggan, Platte County High School
Bass Clarinet – Ivory Kriegshauser, Lindbergh High School
Oboe I – Mia Swope, David H. Hickman High School
Oboe II – Ivy Wang, Marquette High School
English Horn – Gabriel Toderescu-Stavila, Smith-Cotton High School
Bassoon I – Cohen Nguyen, Battle High School
Bassoon II – Allison Findlay, Lee’s Summit High School
Brass
Trumpet I – Grace Watson, David H. Hickman High School
Trumpet II – James Dickey, Mountain Grove High School
Trumpet III – Benjamin Platte, Kirksville High School
Horn I – Kayla Nelson, Liberty North High School
Horn II – Erik Mason, Park Hill High School
Horn III – Eva Brown, Mehlville High School
Horn IV – Morgan Snyder, Platte County High School
Trombone I – Edmund Reske, St. Louis University
Trombone II – Giancarlo Fernandez, Lafayette High School
Bass Trombone/Trombone III – Sebastian Benedict, Ozark High School
Tuba – Justin Wright, Mt. Vernon High School
Percussion
Timpani – Norah Murphy, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Percussion I – Kimmi Lin, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Percussion II – Elias Lai, Clayton High School
Percussion III – Brady Rouse, Park Hill South High School
Percussion IV – Vicente Heredia, David H. Hickman High School
Harp
Scarlett Lawlor, Lee’s Summit West High School
Piano
Ethan Fu, Rockbridge High School
Celesta/Organ
Enoch Wong, Westminster Christian Academy
2025 All-State Band String Players
Bass – Samuel Crowe, Lindbergh High School
2025 Honorable Mention String Orchestra
(non-performing ensemble)
Bass
Sabrina Bush, Hazelwood West High School
Noah Dehler , Kirkwood High School
Anabel Espinal, Kirkwood High School
Bennett Howe, David H. Hickman
Annen Johnson, Lincoln College Preparatory Academy
Cash Qualls, Lee’s Summit North High School
Bailey Yokley, Lee’s Summit West High School
Cello
Grant Aho, Central Highschool
Alex Beck, Parkway North High School
Ellie Chen, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School
Ian Cho, Parkway West High School
Sam Garrett, Webster Groves High School
Alexander Guo, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Sylvia Kennedy , Clayton High School
Aston Liang, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Liang Lim, Hickman High School
Eli Parks, Central High School
Declan Phipps, Lafayette High School
Griffin Ray, Fort Zumwalt West
Paul Schultz, Westminster Christian Academy
Nathan Smith, Kirkwood High School
Viola
Alexander Farn, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Macey Heimburger, Parkway Central High School
Ted Henning, Rockhurst
Valerie Holguin, Park Hill South High School
Anna Ko, Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School
Maria Melton, Kirkwood High School
Liam Mueller, Lindbergh High School
Ava O’Bryan, Parkway Central High School
John Olson, Liberty North High School
Bracken Potter, Central High School
Elizabeth Smith, Rock Bridge High School
Aiden Spavale, Fort Zumwalt East High School
Carson VanNess, Lee’s Summit West High School.
Maxwell Willoughby, Kirkwood High School
Violin
Nathan Bauer, Kirkwood High School
Nathaniel Bian, Marquette High School
Hannah Borgstadt, Lee’s Summit West High School
Mea Carradine, Lee’s Summit West
Maheeka Dhokarh, Clayton High School
Madeline Dickinson, Kirkwood High School
Rane Erickson, Blue Springs High School
Cassidy Fischer, Webster Groves High School
Jaylin Freeman, Eureka High School
Elizabeth Garrett, Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience
Sophie Hughes, Ladue Horton Watkins High School
Felicity Jackson, Parkway West High
Luke Jeans, Clayton High School
Amelia Kirsch, Webster Groves High School
Dwaraka Kumar, Parkway Central High School
Pei Lin Lan, Pattonville High School
Henna Lee, Parkway Central High School
Yosep Maeng, Park Hill High School
Brayden Miao, Central High School
Evelyn Monzyk, Parkway Central Highschool
Hayden Neally, Kickapoo High School
Duy Nguyen, Lees Summit North Highschool
Ashlyn Parikh, Webster Groves High School
Nalini Portillo Cruz, Raytown High School
Hannah Rico, Glendale High School
Sienna Staten, Kirkwood High School
Alvaro Suarez-Moreno, Winnetonka High School
Iris Weber, Hickman High School
Evie Wilcher, Fort Zumwalt West High
Andy Xie, Marquette high school
Max Zeng, Clayton High School
