<![CDATA[The Speaking Eagle]]> <![CDATA[The Speaking Eagle]]> en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Sun, 19 May 2013 23:24:19 GMT 15 <![CDATA[May Performs at Carnegie Hall]]> By Emily Bruder

Jeri May
May's entire immediate family traveled to New York to see her perform, along with her grandmother from Texas

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Most musicians dream of one day making it to the prestigious Carnegie Hall stage. But Juan Diego’s Courtney May can say she made that dream come true as a senior in high school. May recently attended a program called the American High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall in New York. The series features the top high school performers in the U.S. Musicians in this orchestra hail from across the nation and were chosen based on an audition recording, music resume, and nomination by a school conductor. From Feb. 9-11, the group rehearsed together, and the program concluded with a concert at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 12. May was challenged to showcase her best abilities to get into the program. “As a musician, this is an incredible opportunity for me to play with talented musicians and conductors in the best concert hall in America,” she said. Before her departure for New York, May said the pressure was high because she knew many collegiate music representatives would attend the concert. She says she feels incredibly blessed to have this opportunity, and believes it is also a recognition of all of the people who have helped her develop musically along the way. May performed a total of fifteen hours within five days. In the program, she met many people from all over the U.S., and even some international students. Although they were busy rehearsing each day, they had the chance to go on tours in the evenings. One of the highlights was attending the musical “Anything Goes!” on Broadway. But it was the concert experience that will stay with her the most. “My favorite part was the music itself -- it was the best,” May said. “Playing in the orchestra at Carnegie Hall is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” May says everyone in the concert was on edge to perform the best they could. “It was stressful because high quality conductors can hear all mistakes made,” she said. May felt the performance went very well, and thinks she became a better violinist and learned a lot from the program. “This incredible experience helped me improve as a whole.” May’s grandmother from Texas and her entire immediate family traveled to New York to support her, and were able to attend the concert. Carnegie Hall is known as a beautiful and historic hall where many acclaimed artists have performed. “These selective and competitive programs provide experiences that can set performers on a track for great things,” said Dr. Barry Tally, Director of Music for the program. May has played violin for 12 years, and currently plays in the JD orchestra under director Jed Blodgett. “As an orchestra student, Courtney is fantastic,” said Blodgett, who has been teaching May for three years at JD. “She is driven and extremely talented. Her calm, self-composed attitude is a great influence on the rest of the group and a wonderful asset to the program.” May spends many hours practicing. Blodgett says not only is she there for class each day, she often schedules extra rehearsals with the orchestra or the string quartet. “I shoot for quality rather than quantity, rarely practicing more than an hour a day, or 6 or 7 hours a week,” said May. But when she has to prepare for the large amount of music required for the Carnegie Hall program, it often ends up like cramming for a test. “I might practice 5 or 6 hours the day before an important rehearsal or concert.” May not only participates in orchestra and other rehearsals, she also takes part in cross country, debate, track, and volunteer projects, and “sleeps every once in a while,” she jokes. She has received many awards for her successes, including the Dorothy Day award, National Merit Semi-Finalist, AP Scholar with distinction and Academic All-State for cross country. “I believe that one of Courtney’s strengths is her work ethic,” said Blodgett. “She sets realistic goals and does everything in her power to achieve them.” May was satisfied with her performance at Carnegie Hall. “Classical music isn’t always as exciting to listen to, but it is incredible to play,” said May. “The experience will probably make me stronger, as I am pushed outside my comfort zone here in Utah.” ]]> Sun, 26 Feb 2012 05:59:40 GMT