“If you want something in life you have to get out there and grab it.”
-Anonymous

Picture an elementary orchestra recital with a group of kids playing along and hitting most of the notes, then while scanning, one can see a couple of 5th graders trying to hide in the back pretending to play. Well, I was one of those kids. I started playing the violin in the middle of my 5th grade year after a friend convinced me to try it. When I asked my Mom, she said fine, thinking it would fade in my mind after a while. To my surprise, I ended up enjoying going to my orchestra class, so I decided to enroll in the Barret orchestra. Now that I look back, it was one of the best things I ever did. I had officially started my music life.

I remember when I was in 6th grade I was second to last chair. In orchestra the students are placed in 1st chair, 2nd chair, 3rd chair, etc, according to your level of skill. The person placed in 1st chair means that they have the highest level of skill out of all the other musicians. I also remember taking a playing test and overhearing Ms. Cook (probably the best orchestra teacher I’ve ever had) saying “Hmmm, I don’t know about this one.” After hearing this comment, I was pretty sad, but I kept playing. In 7th grade, Ms. Cook convinced my parents to get me private lessons. On my first lesson, Mrs. Yates made me very nervous because I’d heard about how mean she was. My first lesson ended up well, but the next lesson wasn’t. I hadn’t practiced what she’d told me, and Mrs. Yates scolded me. After being scolded I finally committed myself and started to put effort into my music. Lessons and practicing daily really paid off because after about the middle of the year I’d improved enough to be moved up to 5th chair!

During the summer I practiced really hard and after a very competitive seating test in the beginning of the 8th grade I was awarded 1st chair! I was so happy I nearly cried because I’d never imagined myself leading an orchestra as concert mistress. I was astounded with my accomplishment and knew that I could do anything if I’d really improved enough to get 1st chair. I was very surprised because Barret middle school is one of the leading middle school orchestras. That year I also tried out for the Louisville Youth Orchestra (LYO) and was placed in their Concert orchestra. The music in Concert group was challenging, but it pushed me to get better and learn new techniques. I also still continued to practice with my private teacher, who also challenged me and definitely helped improve my music.

My freshman year of high school, I auditioned for their top orchestra. The audition was very stressful because the teacher (Dr. Benson) just looked at me and asked me to play. I played the music that had sky high notes and then left the room. While I was in the room playing, my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to pound out of my chest. After waiting a week, I received the results that I had been accepted in the top group. I was the only freshman to ever have received this honor. I was ecstatic because I didn’t know if I was going to make it in or not, because the music was so difficult. In LYO, I was also placed into their Repertoire group with their new teacher from U of L (Mr. Speck). I was filled with joy because I remember the year before, listening to the top groups and marveling about how good they actually sounded like a professional orchestra. While playing sometimes I fall into the music and can feel the emotion and the rise and fall of the dynamics and tone. I ended up having a great year in LYO.

This probably sounds like a lot, but I’m not done yet. This year (10th grade) I’m auditioning for LYO and All State. I would love to get into their Symphony group (their top Orchestra) but I’m not too certain because they’re AMAZING! All State is an organization where musicians from all over Kentucky try out and are placed into two different groups. After practicing for a few days they have a big concert that’s a big deal in music. Even if I don’t get in I’ll continue playing, because I’ve put in so much work and would be devastated if my hard work was thrown away.

I started out being the worst of the worst and never practicing; now I’ve come to see the value of trying hard and am still shooting toward the stars. My long term goal is to earn a scholarship to help me pay for college. Unfortunately, I might not achieve every goal I set, but I can always try. If I don’t get a scholarship in college, I will continue playing. I might even give lessons, because I could never throw my violin in a closet and forget about it.

“All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim; have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.