Two Central High school student musicians, senior Matthew Mihalic and junior Ally Rogers, will represent the Bobcats at Nashville Opry Hotel in March. They will play alongside the best youth musicians at All State.
Senior Matthew Mihalic played bass clarinet for a total of 4 months before his audition and was very surprised when he got in. He was in line to audition on his main instrument, clarinet, when Mr. Mink texted him the news. Mihalic says the hard music will be fun because he knows he’ll do better with it than he did last year. He says he’s most excited to play with a talented ensemble his age. His advice to aspiring musicians would be: “practice a lot and get as much advice on your audition material as you can.”
Junior Ally Rogers has played bassoon for seven years, and is going to all state as first chair. As impressive as it is for a junior to earn this top distinction in the state, it is familiar territory for Rogers who also played first chair for all state as a sophomore. Her favorite things about playing the bassoon are the tone and the challenge of playing a double reeded instrument. Rogers says she is most excited to work with talented musicians and conductors. Her advice to anyone trying out for something is to “play your audition in front of as many people as you can to get the most feedback possible. In your own practice time, do mock auditions.”
Rogers achievements don’t stop at All State next month. This summer, she will spend two weeks at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan with the best student musicians in the US.
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