SEARCY (LP) Victoria Brown 15 of Searcy High School member of the SHS band made Arkansas All-State Band. This school year she made 1st band 2nd chair in the Arkansas All State band playing the bass clarinet. Placing anywhere in the all state bands is an enormous achievement, and it’s an even bigger accomplishment considering she’s only a sophomore, which is the youngest grade level that can be given a chance to audition. This is her fifth year in band, Brown’s third year to make all region, and Tori’s first year to tryout for and make all state.

Tori is not a prodigy child or a musical genius. Tori is a simple student with a passion for making music. Tori stated, “she practices her instrument almost everyday, she rehearses scale memorization, prepared exercises, and practices sight reading.” Brown tends to listen to others play their instruments and learn from them, but the one thing that has gotten her to where she is today is her love for music. Tori says, “she has loved it since she was a child, and the fire in her heart has only grown hotter as she gets older.”

Brown feels if you don’t truly enjoy something, there’s no way you can succeed. Tori has also been influenced by incredible directors and clinicians, people who share the love for music that she also posses. Tori has a lot of respect for any educator who teaches children music or any other form of art; it is a difficult task, but it brings so much joy, beauty, and life into the world that most music teachers say that it is completely worth the hard work. She has seen music form unbreakable, long lasting bonds between many people and she has met many incredible individuals through band that she wouldn’t have previously encountered. Tori mentions band is a family that was formed by a simple love of music, and my accomplishment are accredited only to that very thing