Ralph Poteet High School - Treasure Chest Yearbook (Mesquite, TX)

Page 32 text:

ft takes a great deal of respon- sibility to take care of a stringed instrument properly. Scott Shir- ley always took care in casing and uncasing his violin. Practice til ifs perfect Practice makes perfect, it ' s often said. This old truth came to life with the orchestra. Practice was the main ingredient for its success. Ten students made up the orchestra, and each had a special place, whether it was playing the violin, viola, cello, or bass. Under the direction of Charles Sheets, all or- chestra members scored the highest of all other stu- dents from Mesquite schools after participating in the All Region Orches- tra on Nov. 25. Tryouts were scary at first, bass player Carisa Hogan said, but I finally calmed down and did my best. Practicing an instrument was not just sitting down and playing for an hour or two. Each of the students had to have the drive and discipline to work toward accomplishing their goals. Students not only had to practice during class time, fourth period, but the ma- jority of the practice had to take place at home. After I practiced my in- strument, I felt that I had learned all of my music better. Then I felt better about playing, bass play- er Melanie Mank said. After a delay because of a winter storm hitting the; weekend of Feb. 4, ox- chestra members partici- pated in the solo and en- semble contest on Feb. 25. Even though they par- ticipated against juniors- and seniors, they held their own. The extra time was to their advantage ... it gave them more time for prac- tice. {Eiicka Wells)

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iVervously adjusting her choir dress, Jennifer Stanberry listens to director Georgeanne Truitt. Everyone got a case of the jitters before a performance. Choir members perform during the choral test in early Novem- ber. The concert was held at North Mesquite. CHOIR. Row 1 Jennifer Stanberry. Lindsay Christian, Cassandra Smitti. Joy Edy. Alexis Slocum, Tracy Forde. Holly Eves Row 2 Tammy Pope. Melanie Hill, Lisa Cromere, Maybelle DeGuia, Mary Anne Trujillo, and Melissa Turkus Wof Pictured Tonya Blakemore Instead of singing, Cassandra Smith takes a test. Choir mem- bers learned more than hovi to use their voices. They also were expected to know music.

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Ai the Christmas concert in the school cafeteria, Carissa Hogan and Melanie Mank tune their bass instruments. Tuning was an essential part of preparing a stringed instrument. Director Charles Sheets gives last minute instructions to Luke Carpenter and Tanya Mardis be- fore the concert begins. Listen- ing was also a good skill to have an an orchestral musician. ORCHESTRA: Row I Lukas Carpenler, Tawnya Mardis, Kevin Harris, Scoti Shirley, Brent Dow, Matthew Hanes, Gerald Miller. Mazen Bedri Row 2 Director Charles Sheets, Melanie Mank, Carisa Hogan. [he merit of practice is about to lecome apparent as Mazen ledri gets ready for the first strains of the Christmas concert. His instrument was the cello.