ROANOKE (WSLS 10) - The Patrick Henry High School Chamber Orchestra is getting ready to perform at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Orchestra Director Jeff Midkiff is performing next week and since he wanted the students to be able to play too, he submitted an application.
"Some kids will remember this forever as an opportunity where it was really cool, saw a lot of great things and were part of this concert and others it may be a catalyst for them to go into music even more and play more and that's what were hoping," said Midkiff.
The high school students practice for an hour before school together every day, take private lessons, and have been getting ready for this chance for months.
Sophomore Maya Ingram said,"I don't think I'll probably get another chance to do something this exciting while I'm in high school or maybe throughout my life and to have this opportunity now is a really big deal to me because I might not have it again."
"Roanoke Virginia isn't really, you know, that big in the United States so it's kind of a big deal for this little city to be able to go and play in such a big place for us to be recognized like that," said Kalysta Bryant, a sophomore.
The students perform Monday night as part of the SHIFT Festival of American Orchestras. Groups from Atlanta, North Carolina and New York will also play.