Orchestra is truly one of the undiscovered gems of Regina Dominican. It seems to be widely forgotten about by the Regina community, considering the amount of before-school club meetings and extra-help sessions suggested by administrators, teachers, and other students that concern orchestra students.

In these instances, every Orchestra girl says– “I can’t go, I have orchestra before school.” These occurrences can be frequent and agitating; however, most every student in the Orchestra is willing to come to school by 7 AM every day and forgo every other morning activity in order to be a part of the unique group that is the Regina Dominican Orchestra.

Orchestra is an environment filled with creativity, fun, and of course, music. Every morning, orchestra students come together with Mr. Hiett to produce music that eventually comes to be a recognizable tune. It takes a lot of practice and focus to get 25 people to simultaneously play a piece of music, and then even more practice in order for the piece to sound perfect.

On top of this, everyone is cranky, as it is 7 AM. All of these aspects combined require a communal sense of humor, and additionally create a sense of community unlike any other activity at Regina.

Elizabeth Hancuch ’17 says, “While many are surprised by this, I do in fact love waking up at the crack of dawn to come to Orchestra. The feeling of camaraderie one experiences being part of a group of musicians striving towards a common goal is unlike anything I’ve ever felt in the classroom or in sports.”

Waking up at 6, 5:30, or even 5 AM for some girls, is undoubtedly the most difficult aspect of being in the orchestra. Because of this aggressively early start time, orchestra students come to school quite tired. This time also makes it difficult for girls to get to school, so carpools are created, parents make the sacrifice, or in the instance of Suhee Jeong ’16, public transportation is taken.

Jeong states: “It is so hard to get up every day at 5:30, get on the CTA, and then on the bus to get to orchestra at 7 AM every morning.” Jeong is often spotted laying on the orchestra room chairs or on the piano bench when she arrives.

This aspect of Orchestra is outweighed by the friendships that are forged throughout the year. Students of all different grade levels, friend groups, and backgrounds come together every day to create music at the direction of Mr. Hiett. In this way, orchestra allows for an infinite amount of connections to be made and memories to be created.

Clare Broderick ’16 says, “I love orchestra because of the people. Luckily, at Regina, our orchestra is composed of so many different people– people who I normally wouldn’t talk to very often. Also, Mr. Hiett is so enthusiastic, it’s truly contagious.”

With this mindset, it truly is impossible not to like going to Orchestra. Getting to school at 7:oo every morning is sometimes painstaking, but the relaxed environment of music and merriment is something no Orchestra girl would ever give up. In this way, Orchestra will never be forgotten– although the Regina community may be largely unaware of it, no participant will ever forget the memories created within the Regina Dominican Orchestra.