BLAINE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA AWARDED WITH TOP PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITY

Last spring the Blaine High School orchestra applied to perform at one of the most exclusive high school orchestra performances of the year. Then just before this school year started the director learned that they were one of two orchestras from across the state selected to perform at the Minnesota Music Educators Association Midwinter Convention.

“It’s our Super Bowl. It’s our Finals. It’s the biggest event they can go to,” said orchestra director Michael Hebert. “We got the email saying that we were in and it was exciting but at the same time it was – ‘okay we have to work starting now’.”

The orchestra didn’t waste any time with its preparations. The students have been working hard and practicing for more than five months.

“We’ve worked really hard. It’s been a long road. It’s been extremely stressful, honestly, at some points,” said violinist Bradyn Nordeen.

“On the first day we started working on it. Mr. Hebert has been preparing us for quite some time so I think we’re prepared and ready,” said violinist Bethany Dang.

“We got our first piece on the first day of school. That was Strange Humors and we’ve been practicing hard ever since to get to where we’re at now,” said bassist Brady Buecksler.

All that practice paying off.

“If you’re doing it you’re going to improve and get better. There’s never a thing in music where you try and you try and you try and you just cannot do it,” said Hebert. “We have everybody now at a point where they’re hungry about their own sound, and their own musical development, and that’s why they’re doing so well.”

Herbert says they’re all having a lot of fun in the process.

“It’s really energizing because I think a lot of times it’s easy to characterize school as – kids are tired, or they don’t necessarily care – which is just totally opposite to what we see here. They’re invested. They care. They’re determined. They work hard and because of that they experience success. Then when they’re successful, they get more excited about the next thing, and then when they’re more excited they practice more, and then they’re successful and it’s just the good cycle,” said Hebert. WATCH.

SOURCE: NORTH METRO TV