Few students are given the opportunity to pursue their passion and improve their growing talents. However, a select group of talented musicians have been selected from CMR to do exactly that.

On Feb. 14-17, choir, band, and orchestra students traveled to Portland, Oregon to participate in the All-Northwest biennial conference of the National Association for Music Education. Students are selected from states in the Northwest region including Montana, Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, and Washington.

“It’s held in the odd years either in Spokane, Seattle, or Portland,” CMR band teacher Christopher Kloker said. “It’s geared toward teachers for training and enrichment.”

Students selected to participate in this festival made preparations many months in advance.

“Students audition in the Fall during the first month of school and they are notified of their acceptance in the first week of December,” Kloker said. “If they are chosen to go, then they have music – just like All-State – that they are sent that they have to prepare. When they get there, they have two days of intense rehearsals. Then at the end of the two days, they have an evening concert.”

Junior Trey Cameron is one of the talented artists chosen to travel to Portland for the festival. He has been playing trumpet since the fifth grade and is now a member of the CMR Symphonic Band.

“This is my last chance of making it because it’s every two years,” he said. “It’s something to put on my resume and I really like All-State, so I thought All-Northwest would be even better.”

Cameron is an avid trumpet player and works hard to improve his talent.

“About three hours a day including school [is spent rehearsing],” he said. “I heard four years of fine arts would impress colleges and I am going for a music major.”

Senior Bayley Ginnaty is another talented musician who was given the honor of participating. She has been playing the viola for seven years and is a member of the CMR Chamber Orchestra.

“Auditioning for me was to push myself, have a lot of fun, and meet new people and all of the great things that come with being involved in music,” Ginnaty said. “I love to challenge myself and music is really the thing that I like to push myself in. It’s my favorite extracurricular activity and I am planning to go to college for viola performance. So, an experience in a new rehearsal setting with new people is something that really intrigues me and that I think is really exciting and absolutely enriching.”

Ginnaty also donates a majority of her personal time to enhancing her musical talent. She spends three hours a day, on average, rehearsing for Great Falls Youth Orchestra, practicing Chamber ensembles, and going to private lessons.

Participating in the All-Northwest Music Festival was another chance for Ginnaty to improve upon her skills and open doors to more opportunities.

“Working with the CMR orchestra director, Steve Olson, he has taught me so much about music and has opened so many doors for me as an individual,” she said. “The people that you meet and the opportunities that open are just countless.”