Orchestra students auditioned for the 2017 TMEA Region 17 Orchestras on October 13. Twenty-three out of thirty-four Creek students made region, setting a record for our school. For the second year in a row, Creek received second place against the five other CCISD High Schools for the amount students that made Region.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of all thirty-four students that prepared the music and auditioned. Learning the difficult music alone is challenging and then to play under pressure is yet another layer. The experience is valuable and I am so excited that we had so many students go through the process. It is helping us move on our path towards success!” Ms. Katherine Dupere, CCHS orchestra director, said.

There are two Region Orchestras. The top one is the Full Orchestra, which is composed of band and orchestra members. This year the Full Orchestra has seventy-two orchestra members. It is the more advanced orchestra of the two and is more challenging for students to get in to. The second Region Orchestra is the String Orchestra, which is composed of only orchestra students. The String Orchestra is smaller than the top one, with only 54 members.

Ten Creek students made it into the Full Orchestra. Freshmen, Helen Ding made chair nine in the second violins and Matthew Ha made chair six in the cellos. Sophomores, Georgia Smith made chair nine in the violas, Gabriella Allen made chair two in the basses, Bryan Dawn made chair four in the basses and Rachel Whitsett made chair seven in the basses.

“To prepare for Region I practiced like a crazy person and now that I’ve made it I feel relieved. To get ready for All-State I’m going to practice like crazy again and play in front of more people,” Allen, sophomore bassist, said.

Junior, Jason Chaviers made chair fifteen in the first violins.

“I practiced a lot for Region. I feel alright that I made it since I’ve already done it before. I’m going to audition for All-State but I still have to practice a lot,” Chaviers, junior violinist, said.

Seniors, Daniel Better made chair fifteen in the violas, Jonathan Tran made chair fourteen in the cellos, and Clark Crookston made chair one and is principal of the bass section.

“I practiced two hours a day in the weeks leading up to Region and I practiced all summer. I’m disappointed with the spot I got, since I got higher last year and I’m auditioning for All-State. To prepare for All-State I’m getting a new viola and my bow re-haired. I’m also going to practice for two to three hours a day,” Better, senior violist, said.

Thirteen Creek students made it in to the String Orchestra. Freshmen, Hannah Heydorn made chair four in the first violins, Elise Matthews made chair one and is principal of the viola section. Also freshmen, Hudson Murray made chair three in the violas, Emily Klang made chair five in the cellos and Nik Risoldi made chair two in the basses.

“I went to sectionals and practiced the parts that were hardest for me first to prepare for Region. I’m very surprised that I made it and I’m proud of myself,” Heydorn, freshman violinist, said.

Sophomore, Katie Peterson made chair ten in the cellos. Juniors, Tracy Vu made chair four in second violins, Pauline Nguyen made chair eight in the violas and Rebecca Trumble made chair six in the cellos. Senior, Joseph Studer made chair one in the first violins and is concert master of the String Orchestra. More seniors include, Montserrat Montoya who made chair six in the second violins, Kyle Anderson made chair eleven in second violins and Taylor Lochel made chair three in the basses.

“This is a huge accomplishment for all of these students,” Ms. Dupere said.