Junior and Festival orchestra, Catherine Qing, joins the class during their warm up exercise. Qing said she enjoys being a part of such an experienced ensemble.

According to Maggie Hite, one of the three orchestra directors, orchestra members are currently in the process of auditions for next year.The orchestras were handed audition music about a month ago to prepare to test into a higher orchestra next year. In addition to auditions, class time is also used to prepare for the upcoming ISSMA competitions in April.
“In the Concert Orchestras, we’re learning advanced shifting techniques and introducing three octave scales,” Hite said. “In the upper orchestras, the goals of the chamber music unit are to encourage independence with one person per instrument part and to practice reading from a score”
Catherine Qing, festival orchestra member and junior, said she is currently preparing for the orchestra auditions this week and hopes to test into a higher orchestra.
“It’s really nerve wracking but also once you get it over with, you feel a lot better about it,” Qing said.