MOSES LAKE — A group of Moses Lake High School musicians demonstrated their talents at a recital last Thursday in preparation for a statewide competition this weekend.

The Washington State Solo and Ensemble Contest, jointly sponsored by the Washington Music Educators Association and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, will pit the state’s finest young musicians against each other this coming Friday and Saturday at Central Washington University in Ellensburg.

“This event provides the opportunity for the finest of Washington’s high school music students to hear each other in a competitive situation,” said MLHS Music Director Dan Beich.

“There are 29 solo categories, including seven woodwind categories, five brass, four percussion, four strings, six vocal, piano, guitar and harp,” Beich said.

The 12 students who are heading to the soloist competition cover the entire gamut of the school’s music programs, and all won in the recent regional solo and ensemble contest.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it in,” said senior Alexa Bond, who soloed on the French horn. “I was super happy when I won, and then I cried when I realized I had a lot of responsibilities.”

Like practice, practice, practice. All of which was on display Thursday night at the MLHS auditorium.

“I played the song over and over,” said sophomore Theodore Wu, a violinist who played his piece from memory.

Wu, who said he has been playing the violin since he was in kindergarten, said he picked something that “was very expressive but also very technical” so he could demonstrate his skill.

Bond, who has only been playing French horn for about a year-and-a-half, said she is saving up to buy her own so she can play in college.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.