On Thursday, Nov. 13, Moore County held its annual All-County Orchestra Festival.

More than 140 students from all middle and high schools in the county participated in the day-long event. The festival is used to promote and improve students' musicianship and understanding of the performance process. Each group spent the day under the direction of a guest artist who led the students in an intense rehearsal process in order to present a formal concert that evening.

"The All-County Festival is an event that many music students look forward to participating in every year," says Southern Middle School teacher Eric Kopecky.

Michael Jones, of Union Pines, adds, "When students participate in All-County Orchestra, they leave the 'comfort zone' of their school orchestra, and for that one day, they are rehearsing and performing with an even more diverse group of students under the leadership of a new director who sees them objectively. The prime focus that day is creating a musical product that they can collectively take pride in."

One of the benefits for the middle school students is that they get to see the level of musicianship they can attain while watching the high school perform. Private teacher Shelly Johnson and her own children have been participating in the festival for a number of years.

"All-County is a very positive musical experience for the student participants as well as an opportunity for them to meet others from across the county who share their musical interests," she says. "It gives the younger students a glimpse of where they are heading musically, and the older students a cooperative experience on challenging pieces."

West Pine Middle School teacher Karen Lewis agrees.

"Students had a positive experience at the All-County Orchestra event," she says. "They enjoyed working with the guest director and having the opportunity to play with students from other schools. They were also excited to hear the high school ensemble and were impressed by the literature the older students performed. I think it will motivate them to continue to practice and participate in orchestra as they get older."

Margaret Rehder was the guest conductor for the Middle School Ensemble hailing from Winston-Salem.

"Moore County has a marvelous orchestra program," Rehder says. "Students are given a solid foundation for success in playing a stringed instrument by not only starting in the fourth grade, but also by having such competent and professional teachers. It was a joy to work with so many polite, talented and hard-working students. The teachers had done a great job of teaching the music to the students, and it made for a terrific all-county clinic and concert. I look forward to hearing of the Moore County's orchestra program's continued growth and success. Moore County can certainly be proud of its support for its fine orchestra program."

"All the teachers and administrators are extremely pleased with this year's All-County Orchestra Festival and have already started planning for next year," says Kopecky.

"All Moore County residents are encouraged to support their local music programs by attending upcoming school concerts."