October 19, the Beaver Area orchestra under the direction of Mrs. Kristina Graham had the opportunity to play at Westminster College in New Wilmington.

Although the performance lasted about an hour and a half, sophomore violinist Angela Zak said, “I thought it was really fun! I loved all of the pieces we performed!”

Later into the night, the orchestra enjoyed a special treat: the music students of Westminster college joined the high school orchestra.

Sophomore Emily Anderson, another violinist, stated, “I thought it was really inspiring to watch the older students play along with us! It makes me want to pursue my love of music more than I initially wanted to.”

Anderson also claimed that the performance at Westminster helped the younger students challenge themselves by playing harder pieces of music, pieces such as “Gate-Crasher’s Jig,” an Air from Bach’s Suite No. 3, and “The Phantom of the Opera.”

String instruments weren’t the only ones to perform. Many others were in fine form this evening. Even though none of Beaver’s brass and woodwind students went to Westminster, there was a mix of brass, strings, and woodwinds from Westminster also performing with the high school orchestra.

After participating in such a unique experience, Anderson says she might want to attend Westminster College after her four years of high school.

Overall, the Westminster College performance helped younger players, but also gave the older ones someone to look up to when they graduate from Beaver. Many orchestra students might want to pursue their love for music, like Anderson, but most importantly we want Beaver’s orchestra program to stay strong, and performances such as these do just that.