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59 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, April 5, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend April 3, 2004 South Medford High School sophomore Katie Sours rehearses Friday for a student concert to be held Sunday. She will perform a solo at the free performance at the Ginger Rogers Craterian Theater. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Student musicians take center stage By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune South Medford High School sophomore Katie Sours has a message for anyone who thinks high school musicians are all about half-time shows and pep rallies: Think again. The 15-year-old is principal bassoonist for the South Medford High School Wind Ensemble and one of nearly 20 area high school musicians who will perform in the third annual Community Concert set for 7 p.m. Sunday at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater. Admission is free and former Miss Oregon Tricia Leines Morris will emcee the event. In addition to participating in the band and a woodwind quintet at school, Katie is principal bassoonist for the Rogue Valley Youth Symphony and the Siskiyou Honor Band. For the energetic sophomore, the ambition she has for music spills over into other aspects of her life, from maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average and participating in the band’s color guard to being a crew team member for the Ashland Rowing Club. Advertisement "I don’t like to be bored," Katie said. "If I had too much free time I wouldn’t know what to do with it." The bassoon is less common than the trumpet or flute. Katie began playing it because there was a need for someone to fill the part and, quite simply, because it was challenging and different, she said. "No one was playing bassoon so they asked if I wanted to try," she said. "I was really excited mainly because, well, no one plays bassoon, and because of the scholarships you can get for playing. And because I love it." South Medford High band director Allen Barber said Katie, who spends an hour or more each day practicing, is a perfect example of the caliber of high school musicians. "She’s a phenomenal soloist," he said. "I could point to any number of students who would just knock your socks off. These kids are very talented." While performing with a band and in smaller groups is important, Barber said, performing solo is an even bigger challenge. "They have to perform by themselves, in front of a judge and they don’t get to depend on other students," Barber said. "They play very challenging music and a great deal of preparation and practice has to take place for them to get there. "These kids who go to state are top-notch. You get to see the best of the best." Katie and Barber agreed that high school bands are too often associated with football season. The annual community concert is a chance to show off their skills. "The majority of the people in this valley see the football marching band and pep bands at the games and they think that’s it," said Barber. "All our other programming is so much more advanced." Maureen Esser, development and communications manager for Craterian Performances, which is putting on the show, said the annual community concert allows students to shine. "I think the poise that these students have when they are performing as soloists on our stage is pretty amazing," Esser said. "They’re not standing up on their school stage; they’re standing as a soloist on the Craterian stage." Katie said she is excited to be among the students who will compete at the state level in late spring. "These students have come a long way to being what they are now and a lot of them are so amazing," she said. "I’m in awe of so many of my peers when I hear them play. "I’m just in with a lot of kids like me and it’s just so much fun to get better and better at what we all love to do." Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. 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