Before this semester even began a group of eager wind players came back to school early to audition for a solo opportunity here at Millikin. There could only be two winners of this honor and I had the pleasure of talking to one of them: Christopher Raymond. The other winner of this solo competition was Hikari Yoshida who will be playing the flute with the Concert Band.

Raymond is a junior Bassoon Performance Major. Coming to Millikin from a town called Bourbonnais, he started out as an Instrumental Music Education Major. Eventually he realized his talents would be better served not in a classroom, but in a concert hall.

Over winter break he had to prepare the piece for the audition. The problem with this is that he was in China over break because he had the opportunity to play with an orchestra there. So he had a pretty busy winter break! In terms of the actual audition Raymond said, “Auditions are always a little nerve racking for me. I’ll never get used to the nerved and adrenaline from it.”

He doesn’t always practice practice practice though. When he is not stuck in PMC he can be found bonding with his brothers in Phi Mu Alpha. When he is not doing that he says he can also be found “with my girlfriend out and about. I also like to just sit and watch anime with my roommate and burn through all my flex.” On the random side his favorite color is red. When it comes to tasty treats you will most likely not find him eating ice cream since he does not like it.

We must recognize him for his achievements and his performance abilities. Now he has the chance to use this ability, thanks to this concert. The concert will take place Friday, May 2 in KFAC. Raymond will be playing the concerto for bassoon and wind ensemble by Frigyes Hidas. He will perform this with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble.