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Senior’s Hard Work And MotivationPrepare For Future CareerWhether it was performing in an orchestra, marchingin a band or playing in a quartet, senior instrumentalmusic education major Whitney Hammestook advantage of many opportunities to prepare forher future in music.Hammes was home schooled but did not let thatkeep her from taking cello lessons starting in fifth grade.She took lessons from Dr. Patricia Cox, professor ofmusic, and by seventh grade, Hammes was playing inthe Harding University/Community Orchestra.She continued looking for opportunities to play andimprove her musical skills. In the tenth grade, she feltthe need to learn how to play a wind instrument andchose the trombone. She then started playing with theHarding Academy band.“I wanted to learn a wind [instrument], but I had topractice a lot to catch up,” Hammes said. “It was hardto go from the sound of the cello to the horrible soundof learning the trombone.”During her senior year of high school, Hammesjoined the Harding Thundering Herd Marching Bandand played the trombone.After having good experiences working with studentsand professors in the music department at Harding, itmade sense for Hammes to stay in Searcy and attendHarding as a student.“Whitney is very aggressive in what she wants toaccomplish,” Dr. Mike Chance, director of the bandand orchestra, said. “She is willing to put in the time andeffort to get what she wants. She is very focused.”After graduating, Hammes planned to attendgraduate school where she could focus on the cello,and eventually teach band or orchestra to junior highor high school students.“I feel very qualified to teach either one because Iplay both a wind and string instrument,” Hammes said.“Since a typical orchestra has both winds and strings,I have the advantage of understanding and showingstudents how to play both. If I had chosen only oneinstrument, then I wouldn’t have that qualification.”Hammes felt like learning two instruments washelpful in giving her more confidence.“How you play the two is not the same, but theattitude transfers,” she said.Hammes spent the fall 2008 semester playing in thepit orchestra for the Homecoming musical “Oklahoma!”as well as being a member of the band. She was alsoa member of the Harding University String Quartet,the President of the Harding chapter of the NationalAssociation for Music Education and held a spot in thePine Bluff Symphony Orchestra. Hammes said that thisparticular orchestra was made up of professional musiciansand was one of five in the state of Arkansas.“Whitney is very dedicated, hardworking and selfmotivated,”Bethany Yarbrough, senior instrumentalmusic education minor, said. “She is always willing tohelp and down-to-earth.”In February of 2008, Hammes had the opportunityto play in the Arkansas Collegiate Band, which wascomposed of the top musicians from every universityin the state. The students chosen for this honor spentonly a few days learning music before they performedit for high school students.“Hammes is persistent about learning to be a goodcellist and musician,” Chance said. “When there werefew other string majors, she was able to be self-motivatedand not rely on other students.”Kayla StudivanString QuartetRow 1: W. Hammes, P. Cox, J. Wimberly, S. Strange.music-instrumental 223