Orchestra to take part in national festival

Bridget Tobin
October 3, 2009
Filed under Arts & Entertainment

Seventh through ninth grade orchestra students recently received some exciting news. Due to their stellar performance last year, they have been selected to take part in the National Orchestra Festival (NOF) Competition in Santa Clara, California. The NOF Competition takes place annually, organized by the American String Teachers Association, where orchestras from across the country are selected to perform. There are various competitions going on simultaneously: middle school orchestras, high school orchestras, honors orchestras (by audition only), solo competitions, and other programs. This year’s competition will be on February 17, 2010.

The competition is by invitation only, but Mrs. Hafner submitted Orchestra 2’s spring concert CD, and they were selected to take part in the event. “The competition is a place for string teachers and music professionals to go and observe students,” said Mrs. Hafner. In the country, only eight to ten orchestras were selected to compete, two of which are from Hawaii (Iolani Orchestra 2 and Punahou School Advanced Orchestra). While Iolani’s Orchestra 2 is in California, they will play two concerts as well as attend clinics.

A minimum of 25 students need to go on the trip. On the September 14 meeting, a great turnout of 64 students showed up. In order to go on the trip, students must inform Mr. Brown of their decision by September 25. “If the students who showed up to the meeting choose to go, we’ll have a great orchestra,” said Mrs. Hafner.