LAHS sophomore Celeste El-Darazi during a concert in early March with the Farmington High School orchestra. Courtesy/LAPS

LAPS News:

Celeste El-Darazi, a sophomore at Los Alamos High School (LAHS) and a harpist with the LAHS Symphonic Strings, was recently selected to play with the Farmington High School orchestra during a concert in early March.

Monica Leaming, director of the Farmington High School orchestra, noticed El-Darazi during her involvement with the Northern New Mexico Music Educators Association (NMMEA) All-State Symphony Orchestra rehearsals.

“She played so professionally and presented herself in a very mature manner,” Leaming wrote in a letter to Michelle Rosette, the orchestra director at LAHS.

Leaming was in need of a harpist for the music which her students would be performing.

“I noticed a harp part that I thought would really add to our concert. As I watched Celeste rehearse, I knew that she would be a great addition to our ensemble,” she wrote.

El-Darazi accepted the offer to perform with the FHS Chamber Orchestra for their March 4 concert. It was an opportunity for her to get a taste of how it might feel to be a professional musician. She received the music through email, prepared the music on her own, and then showed up ready to perform.

Leaming wrote, “I was stunned at how this young sophomore musician fit seamlessly within our group and how her part added so much to the music. I gave her an opportunity to play a solo at our concert as the Farmington community doesn’t have many opportunities to hear a harp in a soloist manner. Celeste said she has never played a solo in front of an audience like that either, so it was a great opportunity for her. Her performance was very well received.”

“I already have thoughts about how to include Celeste in future performances during her high school career. I appreciate the Los Alamos public schools for supporting music in your schools,” Leaming added in her email message.

“I think it is important to note the district cooperation and collaboration, and appreciate that music crosses cultural and physical divides,” Rosette said. “Music is a universal language that bonds us altogether.”