Akins Orchestra sent eight students to audition for regionals and state. Twins Alyssa and Alisson Pasaol were two out of the eight that auditioned and were accepted into both regionals and state.

Alyssa Pasaol is a junior, at Akins and she plays the violin. Although Alyssa practices every day she was surprised when she got the results.

“I practice every day and I take private lessons with my private lesson teacher and I just work really hard,” she said.

Alyssa said that even her own success has surprised her as she has qualified each year for the past three years. Alyssa’s dedication to orchestra can be seen through the constant and daily practice. The music she receives is not easy.

“I practice around two hours a day. It’s hard to practice, but I love working on it. It helps me get better and that’s what I love about music,” she said.

Although they are twins, they each have their own unique personality which match their choices of instrument. Alyssa said the violin reflects her personality because violinists tend to be very expressive.

“The type that just really puts themselves out there. Well, maybe not most of the time but I can be like that sometimes. Some people even say violinists are sassy, which I get a lot. I admit I can be. Point being, violin is pretty accurate to my personality.”

The Pasaol sisters distinguish themselves with their instruments. Unlike her sister, Alisson prefers the cello.

“I loved the sound of the instrument and I didn’t want to play an instrument everyone knows like the violin. I wanted the instrument I play to be unique,” she said.

Alisson said that the cello best matches her because it resembles her personality as it can make very low sounds and high pitched sounds as well.

“My personality relates to this by my attitude,” she said. “Sometimes I can lie low but other times I brighten up and show my playful side.”

Alisson was pleased when she received her acceptance into regionals, all her dedication to orchestra and hard work paying off.

“It was kind of terrifying just like waiting for those results to come in and when it finally came in and I got in I was relieved,” she said.

The twins said that their main motivation comes from their older sister who graduated from Akins in 2011.

“Just like listening to like all these professional groups and my older sister played the violin also so that inspired me as well,” Alyssa said.

Both Alyssa and Alisson would like to continue to pursue music after high school.

“Well I just really love music for some reason, I feel like I found my path with music,” Alyssa said. “I plan to be a music major in college.” Being accepted into regionals and state wasn’t easy for them but through 5 years of practice and experience they were accepted.