Alexa Shepardson is a senior at South Windsor High School, who is very passionate about pursuing her musical endeavors. Shepardson has been playing the cello since the fourth grade, when all students were asked to pick an instrument to play through the rest of elementary school and most of middle school. Having continued her musical career through high school, Shepardson is excited for the future that playing the cello gives her. On Wednesday, December 11th, South Windsor High School had their winter orchestra concert, where Shepardson was given the opportunity to play a solo. 

“Play[ing] a solo with a group so tightly bonded was extremely empowering and really boosted my self confidence. Being up there playing a solo in a trip setting with two of my close friends was more than I could ask for. I have never felt so in the moment when playing and I wouldn’t have wanted to have done it with any other group,” Shepardson stated after her solo experience. The tight knit group of people that she was able to play the solo with was the SWHS chamber orchestra, which is a smaller group auditioned of individuals. Being a part of such an accomplished group of people is an amazing honor, and Shepardson is thoroughly enjoying her last year being a part of it. 

As a soloist, Shepardson expressed the importance of patience and practice. Being a dedicated musician, the amount of time they need to dedicate to practicing is equivalent to the time that an athlete takes to practice for good performance in a game, maybe more. Shepardson mentioned in an interview that she rehearsed with many different people throughout the weeks before the concert, as everyone was able to bring in some new insight. Having different inputs from various sources allowed for Shepardson to perfect her part in the piece, and properly prepare for such a nice event that was held in the SWHS auditorium. 

“The Corelli was the piece that we rehearsed most out of our concert repertoire. The group and my fellow soloists worked endlessly to make this piece perfect. We worked with multiple clinicians Ms. Fausel had brought in and they helped us greatly. As soloists, we worked together outside of class to rehearse spots that we needed to be perfect.” Shepardson explained that the dedication and hard work in the small group of individuals is expected of each member. Everyone that is a part of this very special group of musicians, wants to be there and puts forth the amount of effort that demonstrates. 

Shepardson looks forward to the remaining performances that she has left with her chairmates, and is looking forward to the future with her aspirations of a career playing the cello. After high school Shepardson looks forward to hopefully continuing her musical career, studying at the University of Harford.