Morning Sentinel
Erskine student chosen to perform in orchestra
By Morning Sentinel Staff Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 02/25/2008

By Morning Sentinel Staff

Kate Reynolds, a junior at Erskine Academy in China, remembers what it was like to play the French horn when she first took up the instrument in the fourth grade.

"It was definitely a case of the instrument being larger than I was," said Kate, 16, who lives in Vassalboro.

For the third time in her high school career, she has been selected to play the horn with the Mid Maine Youth Orchestra.

"You have to re-audition every year," she said. "It keeps you on your toes."

Kate and other talented central Maine students in grades seven through 12 will test their musicianship in two performances:

n 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 29, at Messalonskee High School Performing Arts Center in Oakland (snow date, 7 p.m., March 1)

n 3 p.m., Sunday, March 2 (snow date, 3 p.m., March 9) at Nordica Auditorium, the University of Maine at Farmington.

"We play a little bit of everything -- classical and modern -- including selections from the musical, 'Wicked.' That one is fun -- lots of high notes and horn melodies," she said.

Her horn playing also comes to the fore duringthe third movement of the Peer Gynt Suite, "Hall of the Mountain King."

"The first horn part has high notes that stick out," she said.

Both concerts will be conducted by Mid Maine Youth Orchestra conductor Andrew Forster, who is also an instrumental music teacher for the Messalonskee school district, and Steven Muise, music educator in the Farmington area school district.

Music and math run in Kate's family. Her younger sister Allison,14, a freshman at Erskine, plays tenor saxophone. Her mom, Laura Reynolds, teaches math at Lawrence High School in Fairfield.As a child, Kate chose the French horn because of the horn players in the family, namely, her dad, Alan Reynolds, a continuous improvement coordinator at Huhtamaki Packaging in Waterville, and an uncle in Berlin, N.H.

"I thought it was going to be easy. ... The biggest challenge is tuning it. If you put your hand in the wrong position in the bell, it goes out of tune. The hand augments air flow. If you close your hand, it goes sharp; if you open your hand, it goes flat."

And then, the horn's B-flat doesn't tune right.

"I have to play with my hand to get it just right," she said. "It's better now that I'm bigger," she said.

Standing at 5-foot-2-inches tall and weighing105 pounds, Kate still finds playing the horn a stretch. And her new/used horn purchased last year brings other challenges.

"It was quite a switch," she said. "It's easier to hit some of the high and low notes, but I have to handle a whole new set of fingerings and hand positions."

She practices about four hours a week.

"I'm a decent horn player; nothing special," she said.

"Kate is a highly talented musician," Forster said. "I admire her fearless approach to horn playing. That quality makes her a strong musical leader."

Another time-consuming task for Kate: Keeping the French horn clean. Her cleaning kit includes: Rochˇ Thomas Slide Grease, Blue Juice Valve Oil and clean, soft rags.

"For people really into their horns -- and I am one of them -- cleaning is an all-day affair. I'll sit down with all my stuff and can really make it shine," she said.

Lynn Ascrizzi -- 621-5731

lascrizzi@centralmaine.com

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