Elgin High School Musicians Perform for the State Symphonic Band
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, January 26th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
ELGIN – Music is an artform, and the Elgin School District is producing quite a cast of audible artists. So proficient are these young musicians that five Elgin High School band students auditioned for, and were invited to play in, the Oregon All State Symphonic Band. These proficient players, and the instruments they played, were Andrew Buckley-trumpet, Sofie Adams-flute, Abbigale Saffell-percussion, Charlee Morehead-flute, and Megan Duffy-clarinet.
Students initially auditioned in October and performed with the Symphonic Band the weekend of January 13-15 in Eugene. The performance concluded with a culminating concert on the evening of the 15th. Junior high school/high school music teacher Tucker Murphey commented on the student’s time with the Symphonic Band, stating:
“It was a fantastic experience for my students and myself. The rehearsal schedule at All State is grueling. They put in about 18 hours’ worth of rehearsal in the two-and-a-half days they were there. The culminating concert on Sunday was breathtaking. It was inspiring to witness 143 of the finest young musicians in the state of Oregon come together, work together, and create a beautiful performance.”
Further, acceptance into the Symphonic Band is no easy feat, and Elgin proved something of a welcome anomaly in this regard. In the district’s social media post congratulating the student’s performance, Elgin noted that, “this is an unusually large number of kids to be selected from a small school.”
Murphey provided additional context, noting, “of the 11 1A/2A students accepted for All State Symphonic Band, only 7 came from the East Side of the state, and five of those were from Elgin High School.” This is also the first time that any students from Elgin have even been accepted into the State Symphonic Band, which Murphy reflected on further, commenting, “It just reinforces what I already know… I have fantastic students who put in the work and have high expectations of themselves.”
Murphy would also like to express his appreciation and gratitude to the All-State Symphonic Band conductor, Tyler S. Grant, “for his masterful leadership. One of the pieces they performed was composed by him, which made for a very special experience.”
