Orcas Strings Students Perform With Honor Orchestra

Orcas String Students at the Honor Orchestra. From left: Cameron Smart, Mackie Blackburn, Susanne Meitzner (kneeling), Adrien Erickson, Brigid Ehrmantraut and Jules Mann. Photo courtesy of Pamela Wright.

By Brigid Ehrmantraut

On Friday, November 12, almost all of the Orcas Island High school strings class traveled to Lynden, Washington, for the annual San Juan Music Educators Association Honor Orchestra.

Participants from Orcas were:  Brigid Ehrmantraut (viola), Jules Mann (2^nd violin), Adrien Erickson (2^nd violin), Cameron Smart (2^nd violin), Susanne Meitzner (1^st violin), and Mackie Blackburn (1^st violin).  Six out of nine members went: cellists Enzo Thixton and Anthony Kaskurs were ineligible, being in middle school; high schooler Winter Hyatt did not attend.  Three members of the Honor Orchestra had been last year too.

Orcas Strings Director Pamela Wright (who also directs middle school strings, 5^th and 6^th grade strings, and teaches K-4^th general music at Orcas Island Public School), came with the students to observe.

About fifty high schoolers from around the region were recommended by their teachers for Honor Orchestra.  Music (most of it quite challenging!) was sent out a month or so in advance for participants to practice. This year, Arthur Shaw of Western Washington University conducted the Orchestra.

Student musicians spent all of Saturday morning and early afternoon at Lynden Christian School refining and going over the music. The Honor Orchestra performed “Two Norwegian Airs, op. 63” by Edvard Grieg, and “Scherzo, from Serenade in E minor” by Antonin Dvorak.  An Honor Band and an Honor Choir also performed.

While the music was hard, it was a lot of fun and so was playing with so many other skilled people.  It was also nice to have some parts of the orchestra that we don’t have in high school strings here, namely basses and large viola and cello sections.