A quintet of young musicians from Helena have been selected to participate in the prestigious All-Northwest performing group this week.
All-Northwest is put on every two years by the National Association for Music Education, Northwest Division. This year the event is held in Portland, Oregon.
Fisher Friend – bassist, Celia Quintana – violinist, Sonja Severtson – violinist and Joseph “Lenny” Triem- cellist from Helena High and Ali McAllister – bassist from Capital High will attend this year.
The event brings together the best young musicians from Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.
All-Northwest is highly competitive with more than 4,000 applicants in 2019.
The audition process included musical excerpts that are typically performed by professional adult orchestras.
The students said they’re excited to perform at this level and think it’s awesome five kids from a small town like Helena are going this year.
“It’s incredible! It just happened to work out that we have a bunch of great musicians here all at the same time. To be able to go– not only myself but with some of my good friends to Portland is pretty great,” said Severtson.
The students also wanted to thank their orchestra director Zack Harris for his teaching and support.
Mr. Harris, however, said all credit should go to the talented and dedicated students.
“I wish I could take credit for it, but these guys do all the work at home and I’m so proud of them,” added Harris.
On Friday, February 15, the students will meet with a guest conductor for three days of rehearsals culminating in a gala concert.
-Reported by John Riley/MTN News
