STUDENT
Spotlights
Esther Peng, Ranchview High School senior Four-time Texas All-State Philharmonic Orchestra member, senior Esther Peng, plays the violin at Ranchview High School. According to director Brian Towndrow, this is an extraordinary accomplishment. “Making a Texas All-State ensemble is rare enough on its own,” he said. “On violin, I would say only about 100 or so violinists make the Texas All-State Orchestras. For Esther to have made it as a freshman was extremely special. To repeat the same achievement through successive years, all while bettering her results every time, is really remarkable.” Peng first picked up a violin in her sixth grade beginner orchestra class at Barbara Bush Middle School and her passion started. “We are enormously fortunate to have a community in CFBISD that values the arts and makes decisions to back that up,” Towndrow said. “While individual players like Esther are the exception, and they garner attention and accolades for our programs, the reality of the situation is that we consistently produce high achieving ensembles in our district in every discipline, and being able to foster the marketable skills that a class like orchestra instills in these students is a reward on a whole other level.”
As a violinist, Peng thinks, works and processes things in a unique way. Beginning with lessons in seventh grade, she progressed by leaps and bounds. Soon, Peng was trying solo pieces that usually only high schoolers attempt. “When she practices, most of what she is working on is already up in her memory,” Towndrow said. “She will sometimes just cycle through the material rapid fire, like someone tuning into different radio stations one after the other.” Peng is a leader among her peers in orchestra. She is quick to help others by making suggestions in her section, asks great questions in class and shares keen insight during discussions. “While it’s great that I’ve achieved so much, I would also like to point out that high achievement isn’t everything,” Peng said. “At the end of the day, what you remember are the experiences and the friends you make along the way, and not so much your rank relative to everyone else in the state. I’ve had such amazing opportunities to connect and perform with extraordinary musicians from around the world, and that’s incredibly valuable in its own right.”