Walking out the door, cello in hand, freshman Francesca Baldwin feels confident about the three to four minute solo ensemble performance she just gave at Madison high school. She has never made it this far in Orchestra UIL before. After completing her performance she then heads off to the cafeteria to wait for the results as determined by the judge who viewed her performance. Little did she know the news that awaited her in about an hour.
“At first I didn't think we [my partner and I] could qualify for state. I didn't even know that was an option, or a thing we could do when I found out,” Baldwin said. “I heard that some people made state. I heard out of thousands of people that audition maybe a few 100 or something like that [qualify for state], but it made me happy that we earned it, and we worked hard for it.”