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These McCallum High students are headed to Carnegie Hall

McCallum Fine Arts Academy Orchestra members will be performing at Carnegie Hall in March 2019. And they need your help!

AUSTIN — It is the chance of a lifetime.

That's how Emma Wood, Gabriel Salinas-Guzman and Clayton Boyd all describe the trip they plan to make to New York City.

They will be performing at Carnegie Hall in March 2019.

The three will join fellow McCallum Fine Arts Academy Orchestra members on stage for their time to shine.

"Carnegie Hall is a very big deal. It's one of the top venues in all of the world and only the top soloists in the country, in the world, get to play there. So, for a high school like us, it's really an honor," Salinas-Guzman said.

The spotlight is why Salinas-Guzman wanted to be a violinist in the first place.

"You know, violin -- you're always top of the orchestra, you sit in the front. You know, you're seen first," Salinas-Guzman said.

These students have been practicing for months.

Clayton Boyd is a senior and a cellist. He said finding the time to practice is a struggle because it's senior year.

"It can be pretty taxing on the mind because you have to stay focused, and you have to practice very efficiently," Boyd said. "It can be stressful to find the time to do it and to make sure you have a surrounding where you're not going to get distracted very easily.".

Emma Wood has been playing the violin for 10 years. She is a senior.

"Carnegie Hall has a youth series where they invite high school groups to come, but McCallum actually has an open invitation. So, every four years, one of the groups gets to go so it alternates between band, choir, orchestra and, I think, guitar," Wood said "The music we're bringing is the 'Mendelssohn Symphonia E Minus,' the 'Bartók Music for String' and, I think, the Dvořák Serenade."

"Our school won a national Grammy Award in 2015 for being the top fine arts school in the country," Salinas-Guzman said.

"We're a fine arts academy. We have the best musicians from all over Austin, so they know our reputation," Wood added.

Boyd is so dedicated that he drives 40 to 90 minutes every day, twice a day in Austin traffic, just to attend the McCallum Fine Arts Academy.

"It can be pretty tiring at times, but it's well worth it. It is such an amazing school," Boyd said. "The program is just so stellar."

The students said they are all excited and can't wait for the performance.

"I was ecstatic when I first learned about it because that is such an amazing opportunity for anyone, especially our age group, to be able to play at such an amazing concert hall," Boyd said.

The students will make the trip on March 22 and perform at Carnegie Hall on March 25.

The trip is expected to cost each student $3,000, which includes hotel, flight and sight-seeing.

If you would like to help, click here.

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