MHS music students selected to participate in the 2026 BOC All-State Musical Festival
Messalonskee senior Julian Cain is one of a small number of Maine high school music students selected to participate in the 2026 BOC All-State Musical Festival. Even now, weeks after being chosen, Cain remains thrilled by the honor and opportunity it provides.
“It felt better than getting into college for me,” he said. “This is the next step in my musical journey.”
Cain will not be alone in representing Messalonskee High School. Four classmates will also journey to the University of Maine at Orono this May to participate in the festival.
Joining him for the event are fellow seniors Brynn Arceo and Charles Surprenant and sophomores Ellis Barron and Keagan White.
Cain, Arceo, Surprenant, and Barron, all vocalists, earned places in the choral portion of the festival while White, a trombonist, earned a spot in the All-State Band.
They are among about 500 students across the state to gain the honor to participate and perform in the festival. Messalonskee band director Brittany Genness said more than 1,450 students auditioned to be selected in the event.
Cain said he auditioned late last year. He had to learn and perform two challenging vocals, including an Italian solo piece that he had to sing in Italian.
Typically, this is the type of challenge that students considering a career in music in some form might elect to take on. Cain is an exception in this respect. He is headed to the University of Maine at Orono this fall to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering.
Still, music remains an important part of his life, and he embraced the opportunity to grow as a musician, especially the difficulty of learning the Italian solo piece “Per La Gloria.”