AURORA FIGARD, CELLO

My earliest memories of LGSO were in late elementary school and early middle school. My mom and I would go see concerts every once in a while, and the one I remember most is when there were dancers going up and down the aisle while the orchestra played music. I had just started learning how to play cello in fourth grade, so going to these concerts was always really cool for younger me to see where I could be one day.

My first concert was a concert at the Riviera in Lake Geneva. I remember Mike Frazier, who was my private lesson teacher at the time, asking if I wanted to join them as they needed more cellists for that concert. I was only a sophomore in high school, and I remember being so in awe of playing in a symphonic group (even if it was only Christmas music). From that concert on, I have tried to play in almost every concert as I can. Everyone has always been so warm and welcoming, regardless of skill set and experience.

Evolution of the orchestra

The most noticeable change I have noticed is the amount of younger players in the orchestra. When I join in high school, I think I was one of two younger players. Now, we have the Fellows program with UW-Whitewater, some of which have become good friends of mine, and there seems to be quite a few high school students as well. I think this is one of the most amazing things to see, knowing the younger students/players will eventually be carrying on the passion for music playing in the future.

People should know:

LGSO is amazing! It has allowed me to grow as a person and a player. Now that I am a college graduate, I am not sure what the future holds for me, but I certainly hope LGSO stays a part of it, or that I can find another community orchestra wherever I end up that is half as inspiring as the LGSO.