On a cold Sunday afternoon in December, Glenbrook South senior Marissa Takaki strolled into a large room overlooking Lake Michigan with her bassoon in hand. Everywhere she looked students were nervously playing their instruments in preparation for their upcoming auditions. After minutes of waiting, Takaki was called for her audition. When she walked into the audition room, two cameramen awaited her, but Takaki said she was not nervous.

After preparing for weeks for this opportunity, three students from the Glenbrook Symphony Orchestra traveled to downtown Chicago to audition for a spot in the Chicago Youth in Music Festival Orchestra. In addition to Takaki, two Glenbrook North students, senior Ki-Deok Park and junior Alec Mawrence, also auditioned and were selected to participate in the Chicago Youth in Music Festival Orchestra. For this program, the selected students participated in three rehearsals. The program culminated with a rehearsal with Riccardo Muti, Chicago Symphony Orchestra director.

According to Aaron Kaplan, GBN and GBS orchestra director, students had to be involved in a school music program and be apart of a music ensemble outside of school in order to be eligible for this program. Kaplan said the majority of the applicants were from the North Shore area. Applicants were selected or denied based on their auditions and applications.

Following his audition, Park was chosen as the principal chair, which allowed him to have a clarinet solo. Park said he was excited to play the solo, but was also nervous to play in front of Muti.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has given students, like Park, opportunities similar to this over the last few years. The Chicago Youth in Music Festival was formed in 2011 and takes place once every two years. Takaki was a part of this program in 2013, which is why she chose to audition this year, but she said this year’s program was very different.

Takaki said the 2013 program was more of a cultural experience because the student orchestra played Latin American music. She said “it was funny” because then conductor Carlos Prieto would often alternate between speaking English and Spanish, which caused confusion among the student musicians.

Both Park and Takaki said they wanted to seize the opportunity to play under Muti because of his fame as a conductor who has been honored with many awards and is well-known in the music world. They also said they hoped to learn both about music in general and their specific piece, the first and fourth movements of Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6.

“[There are] so many different opinions and styles of teaching [of music] that you can mold into your own playing and practice,” said Takaki. “It was very moving to hear someone so deeply ingrained in the music world connect to the audience. … His discussion about music in general was very powerful and I learned a lot about how to convey the emotional motifs in the piece more accurately. He is really funny and his Italian cultural flare made everything all the more exciting.”

The final rehearsal with Muti, which concluded the festival, took place on Feb. 23.

Kaplan said this opportunity is unlike other experiences available to high school students.

“The coolest thing is they got to work with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra director, [Riccardo Muti],” said Kaplan. “He is celebrated around the world as one of the best conductors and musicians alive, so the fact that our students [were] able to work with someone of his musical caliber and experience is incredible. They [played] Tchaikovsky, and Muti is well-regarded around the world as one of the leading interpreters. To study under this conductor is unlike any other experience they will have. I hope [the students listened] to everything he [said], and they remember and apply what he [said] to their playing and all of their musical experiences.”