As the school year gets closer to its end, a lot of extracurricular activities come to an end along with it. On Saturday, April 21st at Kearney High School, District Music Contest brought an end to the musical season. A lot of students that are involved in choir or band at HHS attended this event.
They have been involved in music for their entire high school career and this day was very important for them. Junior Alyvia Krueger attended District Music for the third time and she described it as a day full of different emotions.
“I loved being able to perform. Playing in the orchestra is one of my favorite things, so being able to perform with all my peers for judges was riveting. It’s accomplishing to finish a performance and feel satisfied,” Krueger said.
Music is a big part of Krueger’s life. She created a very special bond with the other members of the orchestra and with the director, Joel Jank.
“I love orchestra because it is a family to me. Every time I have practice it feels like a bunch of distant relatives getting together for a family reunion. Mr. Jank has been a huge part of making orchestra so much fun. I appreciate him so much. He’s the reason I love orchestra”, Krueger said.
Krueger is not the only one that found a second family in musical arts. Junior Lucy Nielsen has had a similar experience.
“I love being in band for so many reasons. I love music so much. There’s just something so incredible about being able to communicate a story in a way that’s completely universal. I also love how much it challenges me. In music, you’ll never be the best, but you always feel pushed to improve. Nothing has ever challenged me so much as playing the flute, and I think that’s really helped me grow as a person. I also just adore the family created by the band. When you spend this much time with a group of people, you get closer to them than you would’ve guessed. I love that!” Nielsen said.
Nielsen undoubtedly had a highlight at district music.
“[My favorite part was] after the symphonic band performance when Mr. Beave gathered us up and told us that our judge told him our performance was one of the most musical performances she had ever seen. There may have been a few tears shed. It was very exciting”, Nielsen said.
District Music started very early, as some students left Hastings at 6 a.m.
“I had to be at school around 5:30 since my solo was early, and then we left at six. As far as the schedule, everyone knew the times of their solo or ensemble performances and was responsible for being ready to go about 45 minutes before”, Nielsen said.
Since there were so many students performing, the event lasted almost all day, and some people didn’t leave until after 5 p.m.
“The day was kind of chaotic”, sophomore Grace Canady said.
Among the chaos, though, everybody had a chance to see other people’s performances.
“I love meeting and listening to all the talented kids in our district”, Krueger said.
