With one quarter of the school year already gone, a multitude of great musicians has risen up from the middle school and joined the music ensembles. One of these students is Paige Heinbaugh, a freshman in Hamburg Area High School who is in both the concert band and orchestra. She not only plays the violin for orchestra but also plays the mallet percussion for the concert band. 

Paige started playing her violin in third grade, and mallet percussion in fifth grade. Adjusting to the high school concert band and orchestra has come rather easy, and she is on her way to a great year. Hanging out with friends while also learning music is Paige’s cup of tea.  When asked what had made her start playing an instrument, she stated “I’m not sure what had originally made me want to play an instrument, it was a long time ago, but I’m sure it was because I had wanted to join another group in school and had thought that playing an instrument would have been fun and cool.” She prefers the violin over mallet percussion.  Her favorite part about being in the two musical ensembles is participating in the concerts that are put on every year. Concerts are a big part of the two ensembles and she loves to give it her all 100% of the time. Paige’s musical inspiration is Vincent Van Gogh, and she always listens to his music and loves his work. Her favorite pieces to perform are classical pieces in the orchestra since she had always loved to listen to it when she was younger. When asked how she manages her academics and performing, she said “I don’t really balance academics and performing that well. I mostly just focus on academics and forget to practice.” Even with hardly practicing, she puts her all into anything she does.

Related Stories

Musician Spotlight: Brody Baez

Musician Spotlight: Anna DeAngelo

The concert band and orchestra have grown a lot over the past few years with more and more freshmen enrolling in the ensembles from the middle school. According to Paige, the positives of being in an ensemble are “Being in band allows me to hang out with friends that you don’t get to see often or friends who may have some of the same musical interests as you do, learning new music for you and others to enjoy, and being able to go on fun trips with the band and orchestra to perform and later enjoy the day.” Even though there are a lot of high notes, there are a few flats. When asked about the negatives of being in an ensemble, Paige stated that “Being in the orchestra and band means that you have to miss a class once a cycle to go to lessons, having to take time out of your day to practice your music and to improve your skills, and being in a hot, loud, crowded room with other people with their instruments for a while so everyone can practice together is dreadful sometimes.” Even with the negatives of being in an ensemble, Paige loves to play and plans to play for years to come.