Junior Ethan Leong spends more time playing music than he does sleeping. However, that’s not to say that Leong’s endless time and dedication hasn’t paid off: he will be traveling with a talented group of musicians to New York City where they will perform at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 9.

Leong described the instant in which he received his letter of invitation to the trip as “one of those awesome moments.”

Although Leong is not exactly certain of who recommended him for the program, someone with the Missouri All-State Band, which Leong made and was a part of last year, is responsible for his receiving the invitation to play at Carnegie Hall, one of the most prestigious concert halls in the world.  Leong believes that he was recruited because the All-State program is well-known for housing great musicians.

Even though the time leading up to the performance will involve a massive amount of preparation, the trip will be well worth the effort.

“Their goal is to get everyone to go around New York City and to see the big sites,” Leong said.  “It’s an experience in which the performance is important, but a lot of the trip is to meet other musicians and to be taken to the sites.”

Leong said that a lot of recruiters from colleges around the United States will be at the performances. So the musicians will be on their toes, especially if professors usually struggle to find talented musicians who play their particular instrument.

Leong’s primary instrument is oboe, and he has been playing since sixth grade. More recently, he took up the English horn as a freshman. While he plays both of these instruments for both the CHS Concert Band and the CHS Orchestra, he also plays the tenor saxophone for the CHS Jazz Ensemble.

Beyond school ensembles and his upcoming trip with the Carnegie HAll High School Honors Performance Series Band, Leong is actively involved in community orchestras.  Leong has gotten into the St. Louis All-Suburban Band three times, the Missouri All-State Band twice, and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra twice in his three years of high school.

“I’m really waiting to hear what it sounds like to play on the stage because right now I am a member of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and we play at Powell Hall and that’s an amazing stage,” Leong said.

However, Leong by no means believes that he could have accomplished all of this on his own: private instruction as well as parental motivation have both been keys to his success.

“Most teachers will say that if you practice a lot you’re going to become a great player. Well, that’s not necessarily true. Especially for an instrument like oboe, you’re really going to need to find a good teacher.”

Leong also noted that “you should probably get someone to harp on you if you’re not practicing.”

Although it’s difficult to sum up the secrets of his success in just a few lines, Leong has a belief that guides him and his work as a musician: “Sometimes, you just have to think ‘do I want to keep getting better or do I want to take a break?’  Sometimes it’s good to take a break because part of playing music is being relaxed while you’re playing: not really being so deep and intense about it.”