By Ruina and Ritaja
Many people do band or orchestra. They are very popular and many people enjoy it. And some of those talented musicians are right here in our school. When you read this article, whether you are sitting in a noisy cafeteria or in a classroom where you are supposedly “paying attention”, take a glance around you. Get a good look. What if I told you more than fifty percent of the world played a musical instrument? Did you see it? Look again. See that person tapping their feet on the floor? Maybe they play percussion. What about that person fidgeting with their fingers? Perhaps they play piano. I’m pretty sure that you have heard of orchestra and band even if you have been in this school for only a few days. It’s pretty popular but there are some things even we, people of orchestra and band, have learned from asking the teachers/conductors of orchestra and band. These 2 teams of instruments are both a part of the fine arts one with percussion and wind instruments and the other purely strings. The band instruments sections consists of many different unique instruments.
We interviewed many students and both directors. Many students, such as Ella G. and Pranav H., play percussion. Others, like Abby M., play woodwind instruments. Then there are those students that played stringed instruments. Those are all the instruments in our orchestra, along with the piano. Seven of the students we asked informed us of playing a stringed instrument, and five of them are currently in the orchestra. Everyone we interviewed were inspired by many different reasons. Margaret, Erin, Killian, and Rahul all mentioned that their friends and/or family inspired them to join. Many students take lessons outside of school, while others don’t. We also asked how the students felt about their conductors. All of the students believe the directors are kind and caring. One refers to Ms. Buffa as “bubbly”, or cheerful, and “compassionate”, while another refers to Mr. Owens as “lighthearted” and “humorous”. One states,
“How Mr. Owens can get 60 kids to make beautiful music is astonishing to me. Mr. Owens is great because he is super funny and nice. He is also a good conductor because he doesn’t pick favorites and also doesn’t care if you know everything anyone could ever know about music. Mr. Owens is also very nice if you make a mistake. He does an amazing job making sure that there is an amazing learning environment. This is awesome because then you can feel comfortable if you make a mistake because no one will blame you.”
We also asked the teachers questions about their experiences. Both of them love to work with their students and to work with music (obviously). They believe that students from all grade levels can join band or orchestra, whether it’s pre school and nobody has started playing an instrument yet, or 10th grade where many people have already started or mastered playing an instrument. Before Mr. Owens leaves he wants to give one more piece of advice to his students and anyone who would like to join band,
“Practice makes all the difference and progress is sometimes slower than we want so go home and practice some more.” Many students have become close to Mr. Owens and will be sad to see him go. Mr. Owens, if you are reading this, know that you will be missed and that you have made a great impact in the lives of many future musicians.
DW Voice 