Binghamton High School students Julia Otero and Cecilia Walsh have been playing music together since their days at West Middle School. When they’re not working on music assigned to them by their teachers, they often experiment with popular music they both are familiar with. What started off with the two friends messing around on their instruments will now be one of the features of the upcoming Spring Orchestra Concert.
“I’ve known this piece for a couple of years and I really fell in love with it. So, I learned it and this year Cecilia came to the high school and I said ‘hey, you should play this with me’ and we just kept playing it so much that Mrs. Kovach said we should play it for the concert,” Otero said.
After a year apart - Walsh is a year behind Otero, so she was still in middle school last year when her friend had moved up to BHS - the two were excited to reconnect in the music room when the school year began. That reunion has centered around “Merry Go Round of Life” from the movie Howl’s Moving Castle. Since the beginning of the year the sophomore/freshman duo have been working on the piece, the exact type of experience they’ve looked forward to as BHS music students.
“In eighth grade I was really excited to come to the high school, specifically for musical opportunities. So not only have I been able to participate in further work doing music, further time spent rehearsing, learning to do things on your own, and playing more difficult pieces, but also I was able to reconnect with Julia,” Walsh said.
The two have learned and rehearsed the song completely on their own with no assistance from their teacher and Orchestra Director, Beth Kovach. But perhaps most impressive of all is that the version of “Merry Go Round of Life” for the May 12th concert is unique to the two students performing it. Otero arranged the music all on her own, a rare feat for a tenth-grade musician.
“It’s very rare and they are two atypical students,” Kovach said. “They’re self-driven, they’re really into music, it’s something they identify with, it’s part of their essence, really. They have a musical mind, when they think about stuff, it’s related to music, and they take feedback really well. They take what their teachers say, apply it, and then work harder to make it even better.”
Between the girls’ initiative to learn the music themselves, Otero’s arrangement, and the skill with which they play the music, everything that has gone into this upcoming performance is certainly atypical. However, given the depth of the Binghamton City School District’s music program, it is not necessarily surprising.
“It shows BCSD really values music education. We start them young and they develop this love over time. We have great teachers that instill this love and what can come of it if you put your heart into it. These students are a product of how much our teachers show them how music can make you feel,” Kovach said.
You can hear this piece and all the incredible string music this Monday, May 12th at the Binghamton High School Spring Orchestra Concert. The show begins at 7:00 PM at the Helen Foley Theatre and admission is free.