| |||||||
|
New column to feature student musicians/artists By Lauren Peterson | lep@jazzine.com | Vienna 8410
Hello! For those of you who do not know me, my name is Lauren Peterson, and I am a community leader here in the wonderful neighborhood of Vienna. Just recently, Vienna Online Editor Robert Farley was asking around for new ideas for articles that could involve the homesteaders/readers with our online magazine. Next thing I knew, the wheels in my head were turning, and I came up with the idea to give student musicians/artists/dancers everywhere a chance to be recognized. I tossed the idea around for a little while, and finally decided to submit it. Before I knew it, my idea was becoming a reality!
Now for more information on the article itself…we are looking for people all over the world wide web -- and GeoCities Vienna, in particular -- to submit student artists' names, information, and pictures (if possible) so that they can receive the recognition that students rarely get to experience. So if you know of someone who fits that criteria, feel free to submit information to me by my e-mail address, lep@jazzine.com. If both Robert and I agree to write an article on you/your student, we will notify you by e-mail and tell you when approximately your article will be published online. That's it! It's as easy as just submitting information (and picture if accessible). Thanx for reading! (Editor's Note: To give you a taste of how the articles will be written, here is some information about Lauren.) For many student musicians, March through May is always a hectic and dreaded time of year because it is concert and audition season. Yes, that wonderful time of year where band and orchestra students alike take part in nerve-wracking competitions and auditions, as well as concerts that never seem to end. One student who never frets though is Lauren Peterson. Her solo and ensemble record of superior (#1) ratings has yet to be broken at district and state levels, the wind ensemble she is a member of recently got second place in a national competition, and with all of her accomplishments, she still has time to go over to the local middle school and teach clarinet sectionals. You might say she is the ideal music student, excelling in both performance and teaching. Her music "career" does not just start here though, as a freshman in her high school. No, it goes back to her middle school days when in seventh grade, she won the first of what has become a long list of scholarships. This one was a half scholarship to world-renowned Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Muskegon, Michigan. "I didn't know what to say or do," Lauren said. "I always practiced so hard, and then to get something like that when I was only 13 was wonderful. It (essentially) is what has kept me going." The next big accomplishment of Lauren's musical career came in eighth grade. After winning another scholarship (this time, an arts scholarship from the school's PTSA), she decided to test her skills and audition for the Churchill High School Wind Ensemble, the highest instrumentalist group in the school. The odds of receiving a place in the highly esteemed group were next to nothing for an incoming freshman; the last freshman to enter the group for a full year was four years ago. Going up against the odds though, she auditioned. Once again, she found her practicing paid off when she became the youngest member in the entire group, being the only freshman that got in. Lauren continues to expand her horizons as a student musician. She will be attending Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp again for the third summer in a row this summer. When asked what her future plans are, she simply said, "I plan to go as far as I can possibly go." |
| |
