“There’s a moment [during a performance] when you just feel completely content with everything that is happening,” senior Emily Haller said. “In that moment, you feel like you could die and be completely happy.”
Haller was recently selected to the All-State Choir, the All-State Band and the All-State Orchestra. This is the first time an Arapahoe student has been selected for all three groups.
“It is really cool to set a record in something, and it’s in something that I love,” Haller said. “I mean, I really love both flute and voice. It took a lot of time and practicing so it’s nice to know that all that time paid off.”
Haller is extremely involved in the music department at Arapahoe. She is a member of both the Choralettes and Arapahoe Singers. She is also in the wind ensemble where she holds 2nd chair, and the marching band, where she has been the flute section leader since her sophomore year.
“Emily is most deserving of these honors [because] she is incredibly talented,” band director Bob Hackett said. “She is dedicated to being the very best; she is organized and she is a sincere young lady. Emily is one of the finest examples of the best a teenager can be.”
Music has always been a big part of Haller’s life.
“I’ve played band music since I was in sixth grade, pretty intensely,” Haller said. “I’ve been in lessons since about seventh grade, but choir has been more [of] a recent thing.”
Being accepted into All-State Choir, Band and Orchestra reflects this dedication and time commitment. The All-State groups are essentially a weekend of music. For three days, members rehearse together, and on the last day they perform a concert for family and friends. The All-State Choir consists of around 400 members, the All-State Band consists of around 200 members and the All-State Orchestra consists of around 200 members. All-State Choir is in February in Denver, All-State Orchestra is in February at Colorado State University and All-State Band takes place in April at the University of Northern Colorado.
“I think I’m most excited for All-State Choir,” Haller said. “Since I’ve gotten into high school I picked [choir] up more. I’m really excited to sing with some really awesome people just like here.”
To be accepted into the All-States, Haller had to do a series of auditions. The All-State Band and Choir auditions were live and required playing prepared pieces and doing sets of scales. The All-State Orchestra audition was a tape of a preselected piece and scales sent in to the judges.
“For each of the All-State Honor Groups, Emily had to prepare an audition and compete against other students from across Colorado,” Kelly Parmenter, choir director, said. “For a student to excel not only on one instrument, but two (flute and voice) is truly exceptional.”
Haller had high hopes when she auditioned.
“I auditioned for all three because I wanted a challenge and wanted to see if I would get in,” Haller said. “I had a very far-reaching goal of getting into all three and was very shocked and honored to find it out.”
Being heavily involved in music at Arapahoe and at the state level requires time, effort and dedication. Haller willingly gives her all to music because it is very important to her.
“There’s an aspect of music that has a giving-back portion to it, and I don’t think you can really get that in anything else,” Haller said. “I don’t think you can replicate it in any way, shape or form, so it’s always a gift to be able to share music with other people. It’s so unique and it goes across so many borders. It’s like a universal language, I guess.”