Student of the Week

Sydney Foss, a senior orchestra student who plays the violin was elected for Performing Arts Student of the Week. Foss was first inspired to play music when she was in elementary school, and high school students went to their school and played for them and she thought it was amazing the way all the instruments came together to make beautiful sounds. Foss is also very grateful and honored to have been chosen as the Performing Arts Student of the Week. Foss said “Being a part of the Palisade Symphony Orchestra has been wonderful as it has shaped many of my friendships and I’ve gained a lot of experience as a leader which will help me later on in life.” Orchestra is not only a great way to learn and have fun playing an instrument, it also gives more opportunities; like making more friends, gaining experience of leadership roles or even the pros of being able to play an instrument outside of school. Foss also says “The main way I balance my academic work with orchestra is, I make sure to set aside a specific time for practicing my instrument in order to keep improving, but also have enough time to work on school and other important things.” Time management is key to being a successful musician while being a student, a great way to manage your time, like Sydney Foss said, is to “set a specific time to practice my instrument, but also have enough time to work on school.” Foss hopes to play for an orchestra in college or play at community churches in the future, Foss also plans on going to college for Chemistry and Game Development when she graduates high school. “Some advice I would give to somebody joining an orchestra would be to persevere through the first year because from my experience the first year was the most difficult when starting extracurriculars because of the switching from peer groups and academic understanding.” Said Foss. This goes to explain that if you are planning or debating on joining an orchestra or band, please do and note that the first year is the hardest.