BEMIDJI — A pair of soon-to-be BSU graduates hope to sustain longstanding musical traditions.
Cassidy and Cameron Trott will both receive degrees in musical performance at Friday’s commencement ceremony at the Sanford Center, and the twins are set to work on master’s degrees in the same subject at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.
Cameron primarily plays the flute, Cassidy primarily plays the euphonium — think “baby tuba” — and they both hope to perform and teach music to others after they finish school.
“Music is everywhere,” Cameron said.
“It’s emotional,” Cassidy added. Classical music, they explained, is the genesis for more modern tunes and working within that tradition can sustain contemporary musical roots.
The pair got their start in music at Forestview Middle School in Brainerd, but had an apparent passion for classical well before then. Their father would play classic rock on the radio when they were infants, and Cassidy and Cameron remembered waiting for him to leave the room before they’d change the dial to a classical station.
Other than a great aunt who graduated from BSU and their mom’s brief stint at a technical school in the 90s, the twins said they’re the first in their family to graduate college. Their dad, they explained, posted long hours as a delivery driver and their mom worked a series of modest-paying jobs.
“I know when I was younger, I’d never thought I’d be able to go to college because we didn’t have money and college costs money,” Cassidy said. “It seemed like a luxury.”
As they made their way through high school, though, Cameron and Cassidy said the prospect of post-secondary education got realer and realer. They used a McNair scholarship and other financial aid to go to BSU, and picked up more scholarships along the way.
“We knew that we had to go to college because we weren’t going to get anywhere if we didn’t go to college,” Cameron said.
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BSU and Northwest Technical College both will celebrate their graduates with commencement ceremonies held Friday at the Sanford Center.
Bemidji State BSU commencement ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. A pre-ceremony concert will begin at 1 p.m. The ceremony typically lasts about two hours. Commencement guests should enter the Sanford Center through Gate 2, through the main concourse.
The commencement is free and open to the public. No tickets are required; seating is general admission. Parking is free and approximately 1,000 spots are available in the main parking lot. Carpooling is encouraged to minimize overflow parking on the streets.
The commencement address will be delivered by Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Anne K. McKeig, recipient of BSU’s 2017 Distinguished Minnesotan award.
Northwest Technical CollegeNTC’s commencement ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. at the Sanford Center. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Same protocol as BSU ceremony. NTC’s Commencement address will be delivered by Mary L. Miller, executive director of clinic operations for Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota.