Over the past few days a group of very talented young people could be seen milling about the backstage area of the Hilbert Circle Theater. As they waited, many could be seen playing with cell phones or chatting with friends. Things you might expect a group of teenagers to be doing to kill some time. A passerby might see this gaggle of young men and women and think nothing was out of sorts, save the formal attire they were wearing. But these people were far from your normal mall loitering youngsters. They were the musicians of the Honor Orchestra of America, waiting their turn to impress an audience with their musical skill.
The orchestra performs an hour before the ISO is to take the stage this weekend, presenting a very challenging, but well done, concert of Shostakovich's Festival Overture and Mussorgsky's Pictrures at an Exhibition.
I know from personal experience what a week like this can mean and do for a young musician. When I was in high school, I performed with a similar group in New Orleans. I remember walking into the first rehearsal and being terrified. I didn't know what to expect. How would I stack up with the other players? Is the music to difficult? Excitement and fear were resonating through my brain, fighting for supremacy. Thankfully, once the rehearsal began, and I took a deep breath, what followed helped me realize what I wanted to do with my life and propel me to make music a lifelong passion.
All the performers on the stage with me were as dedicated and focused as I was on creating the best musical experience we could. The feeling of comradery was like a wave making it's way to shore, slowing building in momentum and strength. At the end of the week all that energy was released in a performance that was as powerful as any I have been a part of. I was hooked.
I have had many great experiences onstage since then, but I will always remember the one from New Orleans as a very special one. I only hope that the members of the Honor Orchestra of America will take away a special memory of their own.
The orchestra performs an hour before the ISO is to take the stage this weekend, presenting a very challenging, but well done, concert of Shostakovich's Festival Overture and Mussorgsky's Pictrures at an Exhibition.
I know from personal experience what a week like this can mean and do for a young musician. When I was in high school, I performed with a similar group in New Orleans. I remember walking into the first rehearsal and being terrified. I didn't know what to expect. How would I stack up with the other players? Is the music to difficult? Excitement and fear were resonating through my brain, fighting for supremacy. Thankfully, once the rehearsal began, and I took a deep breath, what followed helped me realize what I wanted to do with my life and propel me to make music a lifelong passion.
All the performers on the stage with me were as dedicated and focused as I was on creating the best musical experience we could. The feeling of comradery was like a wave making it's way to shore, slowing building in momentum and strength. At the end of the week all that energy was released in a performance that was as powerful as any I have been a part of. I was hooked.
I have had many great experiences onstage since then, but I will always remember the one from New Orleans as a very special one. I only hope that the members of the Honor Orchestra of America will take away a special memory of their own.
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