POWDER SPRINGS — Three Hillgrove High School band students were recognized Friday for being selected to participate in the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Bowl Game.

Twin brothers Dennis and Michael Korwek and Samuel May are three of 125 students chosen nationwide to perform with the marching band during the halftime show at the game, an east versus west showdown of high school football players. The game will be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 5, 2013.

Dennis Korwek, 17, said the hardest part of the

audition, which required each applicant to submit a video of themselves playing a solo and marching, was deciding which solo to perform.

The mellophone and French horn player said he went with Mozart’s “Fourth Horn Concerto” because he has known the piece since eighth grade.

During a 30-minute ceremony in the Hillgrove High auditorium, he thanked a number of people, including his parents, Dennis and Jackie Korwek, and his twin brother, Michael.

“Without him, I probably would not be a (French) horn player and would have quit within a year,” he said to a round of applause.

He and Michael have been participating in the band programs in Cobb since sixth grade.

Michael plays the clarinet, which he chose because one of the characters on the children’s cartoon Spongebob Squarepants played the clarinet.

“It was one of my favorite TV shows at the time and what introduced me to the clarinet,” he said. “I ended up listening to an actual clarinet player and then I loved the tone of it.”

Samuel May has been playing the trumpet since sixth grade.

He learned about the bowl game through his band directors and said he was proud to represent his family and school in San Antonio, specifically his grandfather, World War II veteran and POW Donald Scott.

“A lot of people I’m going to be working with in San Antonio have the same characteristics as me as far as leadership and hardworking and want to be great at whatever they do,” he said.

Hillgrove Band Director Chris Ferrell lauded the students during the ceremony.

“The support that (the band is) afforded doesn’t happen everywhere, and it certainly doesn’t happen by accident,” he said. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of our students. Opportunities like these allow our students to shine and really show what hard work is all about.”

The three will leave for Texas on Dec. 31, participate in a total of 24 hours of practice before the big show and be joined by four other Cobb students who were selected to be a part of the program. Andie Leeds and Nicole Johnson will be presenting the color guard at Pope High, and Tyren Jones and Brandon Kublanow will be representing the Walton High football team.