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Photo of Symphony members wearing Disney shirts
After six weeks of preparation and eight rehearsals, I took the stage with my fellow musicians on May 3rd to present the long awaited Lion King movie and soundtrack. With all the seats of Ann Nicole Nelson sold out months prior, I knew I was part of something big. In fact, the performance was the first concert performed alongside a film in North Dakota, solidifying its spot in the music history books. Here’s the story.
The Minot Symphony Orchestra started preparing for The Lion King on March 27th, rehearsing every Thursday from 7-9:45pm (past my bedtime if I may add). I remember the first rehearsal feeling so long, I was complaining about wanting to go to bed to our section leader. She told me straight up “You don’t have to be here”... that was quite humbling.
Photo of Athena Buseth and family
Those eight (what I regarded as) late night rehearsals honestly felt like nothing; our conductor Efraín Amaya would lead us through each score maybe once or twice a night, sometimes even skipping one. This was extremely difficult, given I played African Percussion. I played at least 15 instruments, stemming up to 5 per a song, requiring quick transitions of setting down and picking up a new one. Frankly, I felt like I had no idea what I was doing.
The two beat transitions weren’t necessarily the most challenging part of The Lion King, but more so the pressure of not messing up. Maestro (meaning conductor, also Amaya’s nickname) would somehow know every single entrance and rhythm I had, even in an 80+ person orchestra.
Contrary to what I would have expected, the pressure and long nights made the concert so much more rewarding. Even though I cried, dropped cymbals, knocked over my stand holding 10 auxiliary instruments, and started blaring Eric Clapton out of nowhere from my metronome at rehearsals, I still stood up with my section to receive applause from the audience that night.
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