Participating in activities throughout high school is a crucial part of the student experience. NHS offers a wide variety of classes such as orchestra.

Orchestra students have spent years perfecting their skills. Learning music theory is not easy, but with hard work and dedication, it can be done. NHS has hired a new orchestra teacher this year, Riley Day, who will help continue to grow students’ knowledge of their instruments.

“I like Mr. Day, he has a lot of energy and keeps us on track, but he also manages to make the class entertaining,” junior Emma Gering said.

Having a new teacher in a classroom full of kids who have been playing with each other from the beginning of their high school career can be very beneficial. He helps fine-tune small errors while kids are having fun and learning a lot. Senior Karla Lopez-Correa said orchestra can create really close bonds with people in the class. 

“[My favorite part of orchestra has been] making friends,” Lopez-Correa said. “There’s people that stick with it and you just make long-lasting relations with that.”

Some student’s love for music starts at a very young age. Junior Maisie Brubacher said she is currently in her seventh year of playing the violin but is considering the switch to viola next semester. 

“I’m probably going to switch to [playing the] viola at semester,” Brubacher said. “For playing the viola you can actually get scholarships, so if I switch to Viola then there is a higher chance I can get scholarships for college.” 

Receiving scholarships as a high school student is very important so there are not as many student loans to pay off in the future. To achieve the goals of getting scholarships, it is important to practice as much as possible, while also enjoying the performances. 

“Come to the orchestra concert to support whenever you can,” Gering said.