Manta String Ensemble: Playing beautiful music together

The Manta String Ensemble was recently adjudged overall winner at the 5th Tumon Bay Music Festival, allowing them to bring home the Sweepstakes Trophy. Haelin Kim, a 16-year old sophomore, is the cellist and leader of the Manta String Ensemble. She wants to major in music. So Jung Song, a 16-year old sophomore, is a violinist and dreams of becoming an artist and musician. Mindy Song, a 15-year-old freshman, plays the violin and dreams of becoming a music teacher and doctor in the future. James Passi Camacho, a 15-year-old sophomore, also plays the violin and, like Mindy, dreams of a career in medicine.

Here, they share with Saipan Tribune readers their success in a bid to inspire and motivate their peers and community youths to get involved in musical activities.

[B]Saipan Tribune: Can you tell us how your group began and how you came up with the name?

Answer: [/B]We were supposed to be named the “Manta String Quartet,” but we didn’t have a member who could play the viola, so we decided to name ourselves the “Manta String Ensemble.” We are a string group that consists of three violins and one cello. The group was established by our leader and cellist, Haelin Kim.

[B]Saipan Tribune: Was the Guam festival the group’s first official big performance and competition?

Answer:[/B] Yes, the festival was our debut performance. However, we love to play for school fundraisers and for our community.

[B]Saipan Tribune: What were the pieces of music you played during the festival that helped bring home the Sweepstakes Trophy?

Answer:[/B] We played Johann Pachelbel’s Cannon in D. We also played Vivaldi’s Concerto in G Major. We prepared for the competition by rehearsing twice a week months before the competition in Guam.

[B]Saipan Tribune: How does it feel to become the overall winner in the festival?

Answer: [/B]As a group, we didn’t expect to win the trophy; we were just glad that our school had won so many awards. Our Manta Band, Manta Flyerz, and solo competitors from SSHS won gold, silver, and bronze respectively in their categories and had supported us en route to the end of the festival. Overall, our school brought back the Sweepstakes Trophy; no school has won the Sweepstakes Trophy twice in a row.

[B]Saipan Tribune: What inspirational message do you want to share with the community and youth in relation to winning the competition?

Answer:[/B] We think that hard work and perseverance pays off and that practice makes perfect.

[B]Saipan Tribune: What are the member’s plans after winning the performance?

Answer:[/B] We want to perform again, with more challenging pieces of music, at next year’s Tumon Bay Music Festival.

[B]Saipan Tribune: How does music or playing an instrument help each one of you as an individual?

Answer: [/B] As a group, we all agree that music relieves the stress we feel at school, home, etc. We feel relaxed and tranquil as we enjoy making music. Music has brought us closer together. We are all brothers and sisters. We all enjoy being together and having fun.