By Lori Ehde
When Emily Brandel began playing the clarinet six years ago, Luverne High School band director Dale Nelson knew he was in the presence of raw talent.
He was working in his office when he heard a clarinetist rehearsing in the next room.
"It was just the most gorgeous sound," he said. "I went out to see who it was, and here was a little fifth-grader playing this beautiful piece of music."
Since then, Brandel has racked up an admirable collection of local, regional and state music awards.
"When the judges hear her play, they put down their pencils and just listen," Nelson said.
That's why he wasn't surprised to learn Brandel had been selected to play with the 2002 National Wind Ensemble in New York City's Carnegie Hall.
When asked about her response to the news, Brandel said, "I was surprised and I felt really honored."
She should.
The ensemble is comprised of 75 wind musicians - mostly college students - from the United States and Canada chosen based on the quality of their audition tapes.
When asked about the likelihood of being selected among so many auditions, Brandel simply said, "If you don' audition, you don't have a chance at all."
The concert performance, sponsored by Mid-America Productions, will be May 25, but Brandel and her parents will be in New York for a week.
She will participate in five, six-hour rehearsals prior to the concert, which is followed by an evening cruise around Manhattan Island.
The honor of playing in the band is not attached to a plane ticket, so Emily and her family are working with the school to raise funds for the trip.
Nelson said he takes credit for showing Brandel how to attach her reed to the horn, but beyond that, she quickly outgrew his training.
"I quit working with her after a couple months," Nelson said.
Brandel worked with Mary Goheen, a clarinetist as well, in Luverne for a short time before starting lessons in Sioux Falls.
Since the seventh grade, Brandel has been practicing under Chris Hill, principal clarinetist for the South Dakota Symphony.
"He says she's the most talented person he's ever worked with," Nelson said.
Brandel said she plans to study music on the East Coast and hopes to one day play professionally with a symphony.
"She'll go on to be a professional musician," Nelson said. "There's no doubt about it."
Nelson said he's had students go on to receive national honors, but none have done so while still in high school.
"She is probably the most phenomenal musician I've ever known," he said.