Schulte Twins Perform with Middle School All-State Orchestra

Rachel and Joe Schulte, students at Milbank Middle School, played with the 2nd Annual South Dakota Middle School All-State Orchestra February 23-24 in Rapid City. The twins were the highest ranking sixth grade violinists in the 65-member orchestra. The group presented a concert at Rapid City Central High School auditorium on February 24, under the direction of Luis Viquez, a native of Costa Rica and professor at USD in Vermillion.

Two years ago, the twins were members of the Columbus Youth Symphony Junior Strings in Ohio, but since they moved to Milbank, have not had the chance to play in an orchestra. “I liked the basses the most,” Rachel said. Joe’s favorite part of the event was the crowd. He liked being on stage and feeling the pressure to perform. The siblings spent two months preparing for the audition and two months learning the music for the orchestra.

SDMEA Orchestra Chair and Brookings director, Jonathan Bakken, spearheaded the effort to start a Middle School All-State Orchestra. He said he was “thrilled to involve students from Milbank, Spearfish, and Mitchell – cities without school string programs”.

Rapid City Central also hosted the 22-member High School Honors Orchestra and the SDMEA String Teacher Workshop. Rachel and Joe’s mother and violin teacher, Elizabeth Schulte, attended the workshop. The Schultes also were able to visit Mount Rushmore for the first time.