“I would describe my high school experience as metamorphical.

I’ve been playing piano since I was 5 and cello since I was 8. I’ve been in an orchestra since middle school. But then my class was hit with starting high school freshman year online. High school got better sophomore year when I got to actually be part of an orchestra, but I was mostly limited to playing cello in the orchestra and piano outside [of school]. 

In senior year, I got into the varsity orchestra. That’s when everything started clicking [and] falling into place. I knew that [orchestra] this was the thing that I was going to commit to the most, so I thought, might as well just go all in.  I found peers that I connected to and I made one of my greatest friends in all of high school years. I actually got to play pieces that challenged me. The UIL [piece] this year was the hardest cello orchestra piece that I’ve [played].  

But it really got interesting when I started integrating piano into orchestra. I found a lot more comfort playing music. In the spring concert I had my 20-minute piano solo. That took everything out of me. That [solo] was basically the final boss for me for orchestra and everything. As someone who didn’t get into the varsity orchestra last year, I wasn’t expecting to be the one awarded the National School Orchestra award. 

[Winning the award] made me think about my music career as a whole. [It] really made me think that I might continue doing [music] after I graduate. I’m not planning on majoring in music, but for now I can’t wait to join another orchestra.”