This week’s Farmer Focus is on junior Mario Alejo Renteria, a violinist in honors orchestra ranked 54 out of 106 in all region orchestra. He looks toward pursuing his music talent and looking for more opportunities in the future.

SNAPSHOTS

One food you could eat for the rest of your life: Tortas

Dream career: Aerospace engineer

Favorite dog breed: Chihuahuas

Favorite song: “Made to fall in love” by Daniel Caesar

Art museum or movie theater: Movie theater

ZOOMING IN

Q: Why did you choose to play the violin?

A: “I chose to play the violin because my mom really likes the tone of it, so I wanted to try it out and impress her. What I like about the violin [is it’s a] competitive instrument and I also love making music with it. I love how I’m able to speed [up] music and slow [it down using] the bow and my fingers. It’s also such a traditional instrument in Mexican/Hispanic culture that I feel I’m able to connect with people since they can find it impressive.”

Q: Describe honors band experience.

A: “At 8:20 a.m. we begin our warm-up with tuning canons and scales. From there, we move on to practicing our spring concert piece and the combined finale, as it will be our last performance of the year. Mr. Zauner goes into great detail about the pieces, breaking down the theory behind them, which is really helpful. I apply what I learn to my own practice sessions after school and during rehearsals.”

Q: What are the life lessons you’ve learned in high school orchestra and how did you prepare for all region?

A: “Life lessons I’ve learned are to not slack off and to keep practicing so you can get the result you want. I’ve been practicing the whole summer and working on my tunes. I was going through every single note to get it perfectly pitched and have a good run through.”

Q: What was your reaction when you found out you were ranked 54th out of 138 violin entries for all region? 

A: “I was honestly surprised since I was really nervous during my audition in front of the judges and competitors in the room. But I knew I did great. My emotion whenever I found out about my rank was a burst of excitement since it’d been a dream since middle school.”

Q: When do you make time to practice on your own?

A: “Every Thursday, I attend private lessons with Mrs. Seagraves, who helps me become a better violinist. She’s an amazing teacher and thanks to her guidance, I continue to improve and work toward success.”

Q: What are the future goals you have as a member of the honors orchestra?

A: “My goal right now is to be able not to struggle throughout weird rhythms and be able to analyze my music way faster than I do now. I also want to improve my tone and performance and hopefully make region and state by my senior year. Lastly, to make memories with my classmates.”

Q: What made you want to pursue the violin during your high school years?

A: “Mrs. Martinez, my middle school director, was convincing me to do violin and I did since I knew my mom really liked the violin. From there I just kept falling in love with it more and more with its sound and listening to Mrs. Martinez play it herself. I loved the competition during that time since there were about 90 students in my sixth grade class. That’s what made me pursue it as an instrument because I wanted to be the best.”

Q: Are you planning on pursuing music talent after high school?

A: “I want to pursue my music life and continue to play the violin after high school by doing mini gigs or theater musicals [in the future].”

Q: Why is orchestra important to you?

A: “Orchestra is important to me since it helped with my emotions. I’ve tried to do competitions with people and it helped me feel satisfied about it. Another reason I love orchestra is because of my friends there. Everyone has their own personalities, but we all just come along together and connect with each other. I also take the violin seriously so I’m able to accomplish my last goal before I leave high school and be a part of history for LHS.”