Only a sophomore, Abbi Brunell is not only the first chair and section leader in the Greenwood concert band, but also in the Greenwood marching band. This might be because there are no upperclassmen, but she is still better than most when it comes to playing the flute.
The start
Abbi started playing the flute only 4 years ago, in 7th grade, when she joined band wanting to play saxophone,but the band director at Drakes (Mr. Finkbine) had other plans. Finkbine had Abbi play flute, saying that she would do better and like it more, and as Abbi herself said: “He was right, I do love it more, and I’m better at it too.”
Current day
Abbi may have started at the beginning–though she is definitely not there anymore–being first chair in ALL of the bands. She is the best flute player we have, getting the solos and not missing her notes. As Abbi said herself: “It is a little nerve-racking, but I like being the center of the piece for a few measures.” Then, the part no one talks about when being section leader: the stress. Abbi even commented that she does not know what the right thing to say is. Even though Abbi is a flute and piccolo player, she also wants to learn other instruments, this includes trombone, oboe, and even the guitar. Currently, Abbi plays tennis for the school, but during the season, she does marching band. Speaking of band, since Abbi is first chair, she has all of the solos as a sophomore, whereas many others do not get solos until their senior year. This is purely because there are no juniors or seniors in the section. Abbi is easily the best flute player in the band (and she knows that she is the best) reporting that it gives her pride and makes her happy, she later told our second chair, Eva, and she was slightly irritated by it. When asked how much she practices daily, Abbi responded by saying “uhhh I don’t practice,” leading to the belief that she uses witchcraft to heighten her skills.
I asked Abbi about the best and worst part about her role in band, and she responded with “The best part is I get to play fun and challenging music, the worst part is the stupid people.” She then proceeded to name a few kids that she is not very fond of.
In the near future
After I asked Abbi what classes she would take if not band, she thought for a minute, then said that she would like to take either choir or an Ag class, but she also wants to take a dual credit for SKY to get college credits and become a psychologist.
