Interstate Studio

Sophomore Jason Wan performs at the fall orchestra concert.

Cello players freshman Nayeon Ryu and senior Colin Conway, along with sophomore violin player Jason Wan were accepted to participate in Missouri’s All-State Orchestra.

Students auditioned for the a spot in the concert by playing sets of scales and orchestral excerpts to a panel of judges blindly in order to make sure the judges did not recognize the student.

“The audition was about two minutes per person. Afterwards, we had to wait a few hours for the results to be posted online,” Ryu said. “When I found out that I was going to be in all-state, I was shocked because there were around 50 cello players auditioning and only 17 cello spots available.”

Students all around Missouri competed for one of the 73 spots in the orchestra, including 44 violins, 18 violas, 18 cellos and 14 bass positions, including alternates.

“It’s all of Missouri against yourself,” Conway said. “During the audition, I was nervous and everyone around me was very quiet, eyeing who was the best.”

The acceptance process required daily practice from Wan, who attended All-State last year as a freshman. He was first chosen as an alternate, yet was called for a position in the orchestra.

“I listened to recordings of the excerpts on Youtube as a basis for what I wanted to sound like,” Wan said. “Learning how to improve at something like the violin gives you a better guideline on how you can improve on other things, like finding out what mistakes you made and then putting in the effort to fix them.”

While the three students prepared for the audition weeks in advance, their experience in orchestra began long before high school, as Ryu has played for six years, Conway for nine and a half years and Wan for 11 years.

“Playing the cello could be a future career for me or help me overcome anything,” Conway said. “I practice six days a week and audition as much as possible to get as many different opportunities as possible.”

As Ryu, Conway and Wan look ahead towards the all-state concert and the opportunities that it will bring, they have begun preparing for the once in a lifetime experience. The performers will rehearse and perform at the annual Missouri Music Educators Association Conference Jan. 25-28.

“All-State is always an honor to participate in and it’s a great experience,” Wan said. “The people there play extremely well and it creates a friendly atmosphere where you can collaborate with others really easily.”