Two DCE students head to honors music project
AMY RYAN, Everest Herald

Next weekend Jenna Dahlke and Adam Hart won't be toiling away at their summer jobs or languishing by the pool. Instead, they'll be headed to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay on June 24 for the Wisconsin School Music Association's High School State Honors Music Program summer camp.

Dahlke, 16, and Hart, 17, both were selected for the band. More than 1,800 students in grades nine through 11 audition for 430 positions in the five music ensembles -- band, mixed choir, jazz ensemble, orchestra and treble choir. This is Hart's first year in the program, but Dahlke, who plays the oboe, has been accepted into the ensembles for four years in a row, at both the middle school and high school levels.

"I don't want to make it seem like old hat. It is an honor," Dahlke said.

She's excited to play in the band this year. Last year, she played in the orchestra. "The band has different sounds. It's more interesting to listen to," she said. But mostly she likes to meet other musicians from around the state. "It was so much fun last year to meet people," she said.

Hart, who plays the trombone, is excited to perform with top-level musicians. "It's a much different experience than school concert band. The things you can do with a band where everyone is amazing musically is completely different than what you can do in a school concert band," he said.

Both students worked hard in the weeks before camp to make sure their playing was up to snuff. "You just have to keep in shape," Hart said. "It's hard if you don't play for a while. It's takes a while to get back."

The students will perform in a preliminary concert on June 27, the last day of camp. Dahlke's mother, Cindy, is always impressed by the "work-in-progress concert."

"I was blown away last year at the concert," Cindy Dahlke said. "It's hard to believe these kids just worked on the music for a few days."