After a rigorous audition process, the East Chapel Hill Chamber Strings Orchestra was selected to perform at the prestigious National Orchestra Festival, which will take place March 17-20 in Atlanta, Georgia.
After submitting a video audition of his chamber strings orchestra last spring, director Ryan Ellefsen was notified in June that they were one of 20 ensembles nationwide—out of hundreds that applied—who would be attending the festival, which is sponsored by the American String Teachers Association.
The exciting news, affirming that East’s chamber orchestra is one of the top programs in the nation, was all the more special after having over a year of remote rehearsals and performances, according to Ellefsen.
“I am so proud of all my students, and the incredible commitment they have demonstrated to make this moment real,” he said. “With all the challenges we had during remote learning, and seeing how hard they worked given those circumstances, our orchestra should feel especially thrilled by this honor.”
At the festival, students will work with many esteemed conductors and clinicians over the course of one week, which will culminate in their rated performance against other high school string orchestras. As a competition, the festival trains orchestra groups for their final performance, while also building skills and providing experiences that will prove instrumental in their long-term development as musicians.
“I’m beyond excited to have the opportunity to work with some of the best conductors and educators in the nation,” said violinist Michaela Bowens. “This is such an awesome opportunity to grow our abilities as an orchestra and as individual artists.”
Members of other sections, including cellist Sophia Migaly, echo Bowen’s enthusiastic sentiment.
“I can’t wait to perform in Atlanta and show everyone how hard we have been working as an ensemble,” Migaly said. “It will be really extraordinary to showcase all our techniques that we will have mastered. I love that music making is a process, and that we can combine our strengths into something very powerful and resonant.”
With the festival still five months away, the orchestra has a long road ahead in order to perfect their several pieces before their performance, involving practices both during and after school. According to Ellefsen and members of the orchestra, after online learning, the group still needs to overcome a particular hurdle to their playing: learning to revive their sense of collective musicianship that had been largely dormant while practicing remotely.
“Without question it’s been a challenging past year and a half,” Ellefsen said. “I mean, how do you have an orchestra—or even actual music—without being together, in-person and sharing the beauty of it all?”
However, Ellefsen also repeatedly declared that he continues to be amazed by the resilience of his students.
“I know without a doubt that our orchestra will recover and excel after the time off last year; my students are a very diverse and talented group of young musicians. I am beyond excited to continue working with these amazing students this school year, and to have the privilege, as always, of being their conductor.”
Photo courtesy of Ryan Ellefsen
