KRISTIE MOSS / Scroll
Grace Potter will play her bass clarinet with the National Wind Ensemble on May 29 at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Get ready, New York – here comes Grace

BYU-Idaho student will play at Carnegie Hall

Tina Bosen BOS05003@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

She never dreamed of playing in New York. She did not think she would ever enjoy practicing. But now Grace Potter is making music — all the way to Carnegie Hall.

Potter is a junior from Anaheim, Calif., and has been playing the bass clarinet since her freshman year in high school. She figured she would have a greater chance of getting a scholarship. It worked; Potter has played with every classical ensemble on the BYU-Idaho campus.

“I have gotten to the point where I love to practice,” Potter said. “It’s not just notes on a page anymore; now I make music.” All of her practice and hard work through the years will be rewarded next month when she gets to play at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

The National Wind Ensemble, which is what Potter will play in, is open to virtually every college and advanced high school student in the nation. Potter said she worked hard to create an audition CD; it took her nearly five hours to perfect it.

Potter sent the audition CD in October and received word in November that she was chosen. Potter said May is going to be a busy, exciting month. She is going on tour with BYU-Idaho for the first two weeks, and then she will fly out to New York May 24.

Rehearsals for the ensemble start May 25. There will be five rehearsals that will last eight hours each. The final performance, in Carnegie Hall, is May 29. Potter’s parents and grandmother are flying to New York to see her play.

Her family has been very supportive, and is helping her pay $1,850 for the complete tour package. Potter is applying for a grant from BYU-I, which she hopes will also help with finances. Students from many great music conservatories will be representing their schools there; Potter said she is proud to represent BYU-I. She is the first student from BYU-I chosen to attend.

Diane Soelberg, music department faculty, said Potter is very talented when it comes to the bass clarinet. “She will be playing in a national honor band that is quite prestigious,” Soelberg said. “We are excited to have someone represent BYU-Idaho.”

Soelberg believes Potter will do well, now and in the future. For now, though, Potter is just excited to travel to New York. “I have never been back east,” Potter said. She is also excited to play with so many great musicians.

It’s an eye opener for Potter that she was chosen. “Every great musician has played at Carnegie Hall,” Potter said. “For me to be chosen, it means that I’m kind of good too.”

She said the music is difficult and the practice will be long, but Grace Potter is going to Carnegie Hall. She’s playing in the “world series” of music.