Music is universal to all cultures worldwide and wherever you are in the world it’s also insanely competitive. Whether it be in a middle school band a local group that requires you to audition or the London Philharmonic. There is always competition and it’s always fierce. Especially for the lesser known and lesser played instruments like the French Horn. It is highly regarded as one of the most beautiful instruments with a sound so pure and resonant that a single player can change the sound and overall performance quality of a complete orchestra.

For Senior Meiling Melzer, it is her instrument of choice and her passion as well. Starting like most other kids in District 38 in 6th grade she has been playing for 6 years now and has no plans to stop. She chose the french horn because she couldn’t play the trumpet due to her parents not allowing her to play an instrument that was so loud. So the next instrument she wanted to play was the french horn. From then on she ‘s been playing and continually getting better.

She’s not only in Lewis-Palmer’s Wind Symphony band but also in the Denver Young Artists’ Orchestra which is the premiere performing group of young musicians in middle and high school. They perform with local professional groups in Denver such as the Colorado Symphony Orchestra who happened to also found the organization. They perform in the cities most highly regarded and sought after performance halls such as at Lamont’s School of Music’s private auditoriums and performance centers.

Playing french horn is not without its trials, however. Not only is the instrument is known for its beautiful sound it produces in the hands of a skilled and practiced user but also its difficulty as well. Even when being played by a very talented and well-versed player cracking a note is not uncommon. As much practice as some people have, 20 or 30 years of experience of it and they still miss their partials, a position of the mouth that is required to hit different notes, and a note will still come out wrong.

“It’s annoying when I’m always cracking notes because my lips feel like crap or I’m having a bad day. It makes you just wanna go sell it on eBay for 5 cents but you don’t because you’re insane,” said Melzer.

Despite it being such a difficult instrument she still loves it and practices every day. No matter how she’s doing or what kind of day it has been for her she always practices and keeps at it. Her favorite part of playing is playing itself and being able to play with people you enjoy being around. Another part of the instrument she loves is how beautiful it is. That beauty makes a universally enjoyed instrument through many different countries and cultures.