BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — We all know the sights and sounds of NASCAR; the lights flashing, the crowd roaring and the cars revving their engines.
But at Darlington Raceway, the crowd heard a different type of music. Blythewood High School's Orchestra performed before the race.
But it wasn't easy according to orchestra director Julie Russell.
“I had a list of 137 reasons why we probably shouldn't go," says Russell. "There's a reason wooden instruments aren't out in the sunshine, playing in the heat.”
But despite the uncertainty, a group of 68 students performed before the green flag flew across the track.
“It was hard trying to memorize five different music pieces, but with Ms. Russell's help in the after-school practices, she made it very easy,” says student Jayla Palmer.
The opportunity started with a phone call to Ms. Russell's office that she didn't think was real.
“I get a lot of phone calls, and I kept getting voice mails, which, as a teacher, when you walk in your office and you see that red light on your phone, you're just kind of like, oh no," says Russell. "I kept checking the voice mail, and it was this guy from NASCAR, and he was like, I've heard about your group. I want you to perform. And I just kept deleting them because I thought it was just not a real opportunity.”
All summer long the students practiced and memorized every song.
“I think the reality hit that we had to have 15 minutes of music memorized, and we kind of tried a couple different songs," says Ms. Russell. "We cut some, added some, and we landed on the five that we chose. And then we had a couple after school rehearsals, and then it was just time to go.”
But the toughest part was the South Carolina heat.
“The instruments were hot. Everything was hot. So, you know, intonation was off. But you had to be quick," says student Kristian Jackson. "Make sure you knew what you're doing. You just had to trust your training. So other than that, it was good."
"I think Ms. Russell was really good at teaching us at every rehearsal. I love Ms. Russell so much. She's such a great teacher," says student Samantha Netti. "Overall, the process in general, it was nerve wracking, but it was fun."
The motto in Ms. Russell's classroom is to do something unique while having fun doing it.
“Orchestra music is not just playing the dead white guys," says Ms. Russell. "When you play the violin, you think Bach and Beethoven and Brahms. And we do some of that here. We actually do quite a bit of that here. But my hope is to show them that music exists outside of these walls. It exists out there. Their favorite artists sat in a classroom just like this at one point in their life. They had to get that foundation.”
The orchestra is working on their next concert in collaboration with the USC String Project.
As for NASCAR, Ms. Russell says she kept things open ended. But she’s excited to break more barriers with these classical instruments very soon.