Freshman Ilana Meisler doesn’t hit the locker room after school. Instead, she grabs her violin and gets to work practicing for one of her two orchestras.

In addition to Park’s orchestra, she also participates in Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS).

“I did one of their summer programs and loved it,” Meisler said of GTCYS, a year-round youth orchestra with over 750 participants from around the Twin Cities.

The program helps her hone her violin skills that she’s been working hard on for the past seven years.

“[I] kind of just play for the fun of it,” Meisler said.

While she doesn’t know if she wants to play the violin once she goes to college, she plans on continuing her violin career throughout high school.