Ana Paula is a senior at Sunlake who plays in Sunlakes Soaring Sound Marching Band. This year she is playing center marimba in the marching show called, “Bloom.” Ana Paula says, “This is a really fun show, and it’s probably one of my favorite themes I’ve done out of all the shows I’ve done since my freshman year,” She continues by saying, “I’m excited to see how it’s going to turn out!”
When asked about this upcoming season, Ana Paula talks about her high hopes for the season and how shocked and proud she is listening to the show. One part of the show she loves the most is listening to the amazing solos.
This season she is looking forward to the larger competitions coming up. She explains, “Sunlake hasn’t been to BOA for a good five years and this is the first year we are going to FFCC Championships, so I’m really excited.”
With larger competitions coming up, there is also a substantial amount of preparation. Ana Paula says, “Something that people don’t usually see at first glance about the band is the amount of hours we put in. We have weekly rehearsals, sectionals, and on top of that we have to practice individually for a set amount each day in order to play as well as we do.” Band is an extracurricular activity that requires great amounts of time to be successful at. This at times can get stressful.
However, Ana Paula reflects, “I am so glad I picked Band in sixth grade because I’ve had a lot of fun doing it!” For Ana Paula, Music is really important to her. She explains, “Doing it in high school alone has already made such a big impact on my life.” Although she doesn’t think she will continue playing in ensembles after high school, she does intend to learn many more instruments.
