Nine student members of the Burleigh Manor Middle School string orchestra will perform for Gov. Martin O?Malley at a state dinner Monday.
“This was a last-minute thing,” said Juanita Walker, whose daughter Maggie, 13, plays the viola in the orchestra.
A state official asked the students to perform for O?Malley after they gave a concert at the middle school?s blue-ribbon ceremony earlier this month. The director of the orchestra is Kathryn Cammarata.
Walker said the excitement hasn?t sunken in yet for Maggie, who has been playing the viola since she was 8 and recently was accepted to the Maryland All-State Band and Orchestra.
“She practices a lot,” Walker said. “I don?t think she has fully comprehended yet. I want her to stay calm.”
Music is important to Burleigh Manor Middle, which has its own music parents? organization.
About 70 percent of the students at Burleigh Manor Middle participate in band, orchestra or chorus, according to the group?s Web site.
Parents of music students raise money, chaperone field trips and help prepare for concerts.
? Megan McIlroy
