07/17/12 mcw

HAYS, Kan. -- Sarah Dorian, a music teacher for Spring Hill USD 230, is one of many guest instructors at the High Plains Music Camp taking place this week on Fort Hays State's campus.

This is Dorian's second year at the High Plains Music Camp. Michelle Postier, assistant director, asked Dorian to lend a hand. She said her students also had always told her she needed to attend.

Dorian comes from a musical background. She is the youngest of four, and all of her siblings were active in music. She remembers her sister going away to music camp.

Music, she said, "wasn't really a choice."

"It was just something I did. I always had an instrument in my hands."

Dorian says she always knew she was going to end up a musician. "I can remember learning to read books as a child, but not music," said Dorian. "It was always there."

Dorian emphasizes that, though she plays several instruments, she considers herself a cellist. She began playing the violin at age 3, the piano at 5, and the cello at 6.

"I tell my students, I was a great math student in school and got A's, but I was by no means a mathematician."

In addition to High Plains, Dorian has instructed at camps at Marrowstone in Seattle, Wash., and Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind. She also attended numerous camps as a student.

Dorian holds a Bachelor of Music degree in performance from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., a master's degree in music performance from Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, Ind., and a Master of Science degree in education from FHSU. She has taught for 21 years and has been at Spring Hill for four.

Dorian says the kids really make working at the camp a great experience.

"These are the neatest, kindest, most hardworking kids. I come to work with colleagues, and I think FHSU has one of the best music programs in the state."

Several of Dorian's students have attended in the past, and the number of campers has increased each year. A group of her students has participated each year the orchestra option has been available.

This year, Dorian is working with a Vivaldi group, a cello and bass ensemble, and a lower-string instrument group. She also gets to help with the rock orchestra and is participating in the faculty rock group.

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