By Chloe Futrell, Editor-in-Chief
For the first time in First Flight history, the orchestra will be competing in the North Carolina Music Educators Association, a state wide string competition. The orchestra has never competed before and they will be headed to NC State University on Mar. 12 to showcase their talents.
“Different regions come together in different locations to be adjudicated,” orchestra teacher John Buford said. “You have to choose from a repository list a song that is associated with a skill level and the judges give you (something) like a grade.”
Each school that competes is given a certain ranking: superior, excellent, good, fair, etc. The string students are given an opportunity to compete but not in the conventional manner.
“You compete at your own level. We we won’t be competing against them we will be competing against yourselves,” Buford said.
All the schools are given the opportunity to watch other string students perform, so that they can learn how to improve themselves before the next competition. By analyzing the way they measure up to other orchestras ranked in their level, the students are able to take some of the things they see and incorporate them into their own orchestra at home.
“We never get a chance to see another school perform, we get the chance to see what other students are doing out there in the world,” Buford said.
Because the string students have never competed before they haven’t been given the opportunity to see what other schools sound like.
“The string program is relatively new, we haven’t been around as long as the band and choirs,” Buford said.
The program has never competed before because of its lack of time and funds. Thanks to a group of parents who got the funding for an orchestra a few years back, the program has been able to blossom.
“They wanted to see that (orchestra) in the schools,” Buford said. “We are supported in a way similar to the booster club. We have a Dare County Youth Orchestra which helps with supplies and rentals.”
These students have been given the means to succeed and they also have the drive and appreciation for it.
“Getting up at 5:30 in the morning is not the most fun” senior Grace Hook said laughing. “But, it’s worth it because you get to have concerts and show everyone ‘Hey I play this instrument, most people don’t and that’s pretty cool’.”
The orchestra students arrive at school an hour early, four days a week to perfect the songs that they have chosen for their next event. Often times they can be seen at school concerts or even local events, but this competition is their time to shine.
“They are all really good and I think that our orchestra can go pretty far,” Hook said.
This is Hook’s seventh year playing bass in orchestra, her first time competing will be in the spring. Hook and the other members of the group are set up for success thanks to their enthusiasm for the art.
“The string instrument is the hardest instrument to play,” Burford said. “Those students who come that early are dedicated to what they do, they have the passion for it.”
Senior Chloe Futrell can be reached at futrellch1114@daretoelearn.org.
