Our school system is one of only two in the county which offers orchestra as part of the fine arts. For $10 a year, we get the use of our chosen instrument. The students pick their instrument in the fifth grade. How Matt ended up with the cello is really funny. Before any major purchase I have always tried to find the best value for the best price. So when Matt came home and said, I am going to play the cello....because it's the best price. The teacher told the kids how she lost a lot of her orchestra due to graduation the previous year and everyone always chose violin.....in order to build up her cello section, she offered the cello at a discounted price. If you chose cello, the school would discount the rental for one year. Matt was so proud he got in on the deal. For the first year, we paid $5 to rent the cello.

When he started 6th grade, he got a different cello...as the older kids graduate, the cellos are all passed down....with the cellos in the best condition going to the best students. Matt's new cello was in a case that was made like a back pack. He'd put the cello on his back and when he wanted to be silly, he would bend over and have the cello face someone and he told them it was his machine gun. By the time he got to 7th grade, he was the best cellist in the middle school orchestra. This year he will be a Senior and he has held 1st chair three out of 4 years of high school. In Solo and Ensemble competion Matt was in a quartet. They got a 1...which is the best score you can get.

Bethany plays the viola. It is a little larger than the violin and has different strings. It's not as popular as the violin. More than half the orchestra is made up of violins. She, too, started in the fifth grade. As she progressed through the years, she has held 1st chair through out middle school. As a sophomore, she is 2nd chair. The first chair is held by a good friend of both Matt and Bethany. When she graduates with Matt, Bethany will be 1st chair. Bethany was quite busy during Solo and Ensemble Competition, Bethany was in two duets. One with her friend Gina and one with Alexa who is first chair. She got a 1 on both of those. She did a solo and got a 2.

Performing at Walt Disney World, April 2005


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