As many music opportunities come and go every year, students in the Cypress Strings Department continue to take a shot at some different event. The process of learning the music and auditioning is already highly beneficial to students, something that their director, Mrs. Lisa always makes a point to emphasize. The process of taking on difficult music helps with the development of new skills while auditioning in front of new people helps with overcoming stage fright and provides valuable insight in the form of fresh feedback from new people. That said, this year the Strings Department has found unprecedented success in many of these opportunities.

For one, it was the first time ever that a guitarist from our school district has been accepted into Guitar All-State. The guitarist, Madelyn Martinez, is a senior who has only been playing for the last three years. During the Fall String Concert earlier this school year she showcased her skills during her electric guitar solo in the song “Creep.”

Martinez’s accomplishments this year don’t end there, however, as she was one of three Cypress Lake guitarists who received a superior with distinction at Solo & Ensemble. These students performed at FGCU in front of judges in order to receive feedback and a rating, with a superior being the highest possible rating. A superior with distinction doesn’t just mean a great performance, but also includes performing from memory. Rounding out the students with this recognition is violinist Mariia Zacharievich, who is only a ninth grader this year but is already taking part in Cypress history; for the first time in decades, every one of the fifteen students who attended solo and ensemble left with a superior rating, including Zacharievich’s brother, Danylo.

Danylo also entered Cypress history as one of two people in ten years to be accepted into the auditioned group for 9/10 All-State Concert Orchestra. The other member to join is Marc-Pierre Louis, a fellow violin player and a sophomore this year.

While Mrs. Lisa continues to express her pride at all the students who took a chance by doing all the work and taking the wager to audition, there is definitely an extended congratulations to all the students who are setting records.