Senior Zoey Olson knows her way around a French horn. Playing for slightly over three years, Olson has shown that she is more than worthy of the Anoka County Union Band Arion Award.

Continuing to play in college, Olson plans on attending Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. This particular school only has an orchestra, so that’s where she and her French horn will fit in perfectly.

“The French horn is a classical instrument,” said Olson. “But it is also a pretty instrument. Something that not many people know is that my grandparents sponsored the first chair French horn player in the Missouri Symphony in Columbia, MO.”

During Olson’s junior year,  she was one of the few people who received a perfect score at contest. In addition, she auditioned and participated in All State Band during the summer of 2010. Band director Heidi Stadola said it was really exciting to see Zoey receive a perfect score. Olson is the second player to receive a perfect score at contest since Stadola has been teaching here.

“My first thought when I received a perfect was ‘What? Really?’,” said Olson. “I didn’t feel like it was actually real. I was really excited and proud once I actually realized that it was real.”

Her musical talents aren’t the only thing that help define who Zoey is as a person. She has a stellar grade point average of 3.98, ranking her as one of the top in her grade. She draws and loves anime and manga. One of her other passions is learning languages. Having taken all languages offered at St. Francis High School, Olson received the World Language Department Scholarship and has decided learning languages is what she plans on continuing in college.

“I love languages,” said Olson. “I would love to teach ESL [English as a Second Language]. Earlham is known worldwide for their language programs and their study abroad programs.”

Even though Earlham is in Indiana, Olson has no fear of moving out of state for college.

“I’ve had mini experiences living away from home,” said Olson. “One example was when I went to All State band last summer. At this point, I’m just a little scared but mostly curious about what is out there and what it will be like.”

Geordin Crist found his passion for instrumental music halfway through his high school career.

“I was in choir in seventh grade, and I had wanted to get back into music,” said Crist “But I didn’t know you could join band in high school. I thought you had to already know how to play an instrument.”

Crist joined band during the second trimester of his sophomore year, taking private lessons with band director Heidi Stodola to develop his instrumental skills.

“I started out on French horn, partly because it’s what Mrs. Stodola wanted me to play, and partly because I remembered watching one of my brother’s band concerts and I thought the coiled-looking instrument [french horn] was the coolest thing ever,” said Crist. “When I started playing it, my first thought was ‘How do I hold this? Seriously, How do I hold this?’”

Crist now plays 13 different instruments, including various saxophones and clarinets. His favorites are french horn, for large ensemble, and flute, for solo pieces.
“I started playing new instruments because I was curious to know if any instruments were easier to play than the others,” Crist said “Clarinet was the worst.” Crist’s favorite thing about instrumental music is the constant state of change that comes with it. He enjoys that there is always something new to play as new styles and ideas are created.

A member of the St. Francis High School Wind Ensemble, Crist is also involved in the pep band, marching band, jazz band, and musical pit orchestra. Outside of band, he is involved in speech, debate, and student congress.

After high school, Crist plans to major in biology or law, and minor in music at the university of Minnesota Twin Cities. He plans to audition for the U of M symphonic band this year. Crist chose the University of Minnesota because of the variety of programs it offers. He takes comfort in knowing that if he changes his mind about his major, there will still be programs for him to choose from.

One reason he wants to continue studying instrumental music is the community it creates. He enjoys the inside jokes, the atmosphere an ensemble encourages and the friendships he’s experienced.

“Music bonds people. It’s hard to describe,” said Crist, “but there’s just something about playing music that’s really binding.”