The Up & Coming Magazine

Image Credit: All images were provided by Luke Perry.

Being involved in music is both taxing and rewarding. At my school, we have a highly regarded music department. In total, we have twelve music ensembles: the Red Group Orchestra, the Blue Group Orchestra, the Select Ensemble Orchestra, the Marching Band, the Concert Band, the Steel Band, the Jazz Band, the Hand bells, the Young Patriots Choir, the Voices of Freedom Choir, the Concert Choir, the Men’s Ensemble, and the Women’s Ensemble. I am involved in all three orchestras, all three bands, hand bells, and the concert choir. In addition to those ensembles, I am involved in the youth orchestra for our city, I audition for the all-state orchestra, and I audition for our regional honor band. I also play in two honor orchestras, and our school has my choir sing with our symphony orchestra.

Being in my school’s music department and those other ensembles means that I have to go to many rehearsals. On Mondays, I have steel band and youth orchestra, so I don’t get home before nine pm. On Wednesdays, I have handbells, steel, and a lesson for orchestra, so I don’t get home before 6:30 P.M. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have marching/concert band, so I don’t get home before 6 P.M. Lastly, on Fridays, I have Select Ensemble Orchestra rehearsal, and during football season, we have our games for marching band, so I don’t get home before 10 P.M.

On top of all of that, I have all state auditions to prepare for. We only have two and a half months to prepare. Then, we go to all state auditions on a Saturday, and audition. It takes all day because of how many people from my county audition. I also have to record my auditions for Honor Orchestra and Honor Band and send those in. I also have to find a way to balance all my school work with all of that. I take all honors classes, so they are very time-consuming. Sometimes, I have to choose between multiple things because there just isn’t enough time in the day to do it all.

These are not complaints about all of the activities. I chose to do all of them, and I’m glad that I do because I have made so many friends that will last a lifetime. I met people from all over the state. I also know multiple college professors who give me advice on how to go about playing some of my music. I have gotten to experience two music conferences, and that was definitely a good experience to have. I have attended multiple state string days and viola camps.

As you may be able to guess, I desire to pursue a career in music. I hope to either go to West Virginia University, Ohio State University, or a major music school. I want to major in music education and viola performance. I aspire to be a known name and have a good reputation for myself. I have gotten to witness multiple famous musicians, like Yo-Yo Ma. It is, overall, a very fun thing to be involved with, and I wouldn’t trade any of these experiences for anything.

This was written by our contributing writer, Luke Perry.