Orchestra students at the Bridgewater-Raritan High School recently participated in auditions to become a member of the Central Jersey Regional Orchestra, on December 10.

Organized by the Central Jersey Music Educator’s Association, the event saw students who play the violin, viola, cello and bass visit John. P Stevens High School  in Edison to audition. The audition process involved three scales, two excerpts from a predetermined music repertoire and a short sight-reading excerpt given at the audition itself.

The following orchestra students were accepted into the ensemble:

Junior Navin Agarwal for violin

Junior Daniel Zhang for violin

Sophomore Josh Li for violin

Sophomore Amay Naik for violin

Junior Brandon Wu for viola

Junior David Yi for cello

David Yi, the first-ranked cello in the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Symphony Orchestra and now in the regional orchestra, explained his excitement and thanked his teachers.

“I’m very happy I got first chair. I’d like to first thank Mrs. Griggs for the endless support and my private teacher Dr. Kang for her passion in teaching. I am glad that I was able to represent Bridgewater’s amazing music program, and I hope to continue this streak into the future,” he said.

Yi went on to explain why performing means a lot to him.

“When I am on the stage, creating music, there is no greater gratification…a sense of accomplishment and nostalgia hits me as I’m happy that I was finally able to perform, but I will miss the many memories and relationships I formed through the time spent working on the piece,” he said.

Sophomore violinist Amay Naik also explained his journey with music.

“I started playing the violin around 5 and a half years ago…though my journey as a violinist initially began without much drive or purpose, I grew more and more passionate about playing over the next few years as I became more and more adept at being a violinist. Even to this day, violin remains one of the core activities that take up a large portion of my day,” he said. 

Naik went on to explain his journey being apart of the CJMEA Regional Orchestra.

“In the last few years, I have auditioned and been accepted to the CJMEA Regional Orchestra three times and the NJMEA All-State Orchestra two times. Being a part of CJMEA and NJMEA are by far some of the best experiences that a young musician can have, as they push a musician to great bounds through their challenging repertoire,” he said. “In addition, they grant you opportunities to socialize and mingle in a welcoming community of like-minded musicians, allowing for an experience that serves as one of the most notable moments in a young musician’s high school career.”