Flames of Passion: One Girl and her Heart for Music
By: Grace Abraham
On Saturday, September 12, Reese Buchert was the girls representative for the Jenks Highschool Vocal Music Department in the Discovery Awards Reunion Show at the Tulsa PAC.
The discovery awards show is a highly competitive annual event that every high school across the nation is eligible to participate in. It’s an event that celebrates the best in high school musical theatre. One boy and one girl from each school are chosen to compete against other high schools.
“When we did Seussical, about 4 judges came and gave some of the eligible leads scores,” Reese Buchert, Junior, says. “I actually was not chosen, Emily Thresher was. But, she now lives in Nashville for college, so she couldn’t perform in the concert. So they asked me to because I was the other eligible lead!”
Reese Buchert plays Mayzie, one of the leading roles, in Suessical.
But due to the global pandemic, the awards were unable to happen. All the students selected in Oklahoma couldn’t compete. So Jeremy Stephens, who plays a large part in the awards, put together a small show dedicated to the students who were unable to compete. Students selected from the high schools were able to sing 3 songs and perform for an audience.
Buchert, who has been in 38 musicals around Tulsa, was thrilled for the opportunity to express her passion.
Reese Buchert has done a lot of musical shows and won multiple awards for her talent in the Tulsa area.
“I’m just glad that we were able to still get to sing on stage for people. That’s the best part for me,” Buchert says. “Everything was outside and socially distanced, of course,” she adds.
“Music is the thing that gets me up in the morning. I know that sounds cliche but it's true,” Buchert says. “It’s the thing that I most look forward to every second of every day. I don’t know where I would be without music, something about that just sets my soul on fire.”
Buchert’s passion started at a very young age when her grandmother introduced her to lots of different types of classical music. Following her heart, she auditioned and performed in her first musical in the 4th grade and instantly fell in love with it. She has continued to live her dream by furthering her musical passion. Practicing every day and keeping her vocal cords in top shape is also a major part of that.
“Over the last 6 months [when everyone was quarantined], I made sure to sing or do warm-ups at least once a day,” Burchert says. “And I did diaphragm workouts as often as I could.”
Buchert is thrilled to be back in school with her friends and family and looks forward to a year full of new and uncharted experiences.