NEISTA Honor Orchestra 

The NEISTA Honor Orchestra festival takes place at the beginning of January. Orchestra directors from schools in the Northeast section of Iowa nominate their top string students, and students are selected for participation from the entire pool of nominees. There is a middle school (grades 6-8), as well as a high school (grades 9-12)  orchestra. The 2026 festival took place at Cedar Falls High School on January 10. The 2027 festival will take place on January 9th at Waverly Shell-Rock Middle School.

At the festival, students participate in chair auditions, and the top members of each section are invited to the ISTA honors orchestra in May. The 2026 ISTA Honors Orchestra took place on Saturday, May 16 at Wartburg College in Waverly, IA.

2026 NEISTA HS Honors Orchestra:

Back Row: Parker Zylstra, Amina Rechkemmer, James Peng, Diya Pradeep, Kevin Du, Jake Snodgrass, Cade Frost

Front Row: Rishika Shettigar, Aleah Flint, Ramona Saavedra-Dubord, Helen Peng, Chloe Lockard

2026 ISTA Qualifiers: Kevin Du, Aleah Flint, Cade Frost, James Peng, Diya Pradeep, Rishika Shettigar, Jake Snodgrass