Two Annie Wright Students Perform with Elite Northwest Musicians
During President's Day Weekend two Annie Wright Upper School musicians rehearsed and performed with the best high school musicians in the state and region at the Washington Music Educators All-State conference/ National Association of Music Educators Northwest conference. Activities began at noon on Friday and finished with concerts Sunday in Spokane, Washington.
Clarinetist Crystal Zheng '16 and violinist Aurora Hake '17 both won their way into this program through competitive recordings entered last October.
Aurora was 13th of 56 violinists chosen for the All-State Symphony orchestra which was conducted this year by conductor-emeritus of the Seattle Symphony Gerard Schwartz. The group rehearsed for almost 20 hours and performed at the Historic Fox Theater in Downtown Spokane on February 15. This was Aurora's 4th straight year of participation, having also been a member for two years of the Junior All State program for middle school musicians.
Crystal successfully won her way into the All-Northwest Concert Band consisting of the top players from six states, and this was her first time auditioning for the program. She was one of only 18 clarinetists from Washington State invited to play in this prestigious group, which was conducted by Linda Moorehouse from the University of Illinois. She endured the same rigorous rehearsal schedule and performed Sunday as well at the Fox Theater in Spokane. She is the first wind player and the first All-Northwest level student from Annie Wright.
This was a remarkable opportunity for these talented girls to work and relax with other dedicated young musicians and enjoy making music at the greatest level available in high school. Congratulations to both!
