Austin High Orchestra holds benefit concert after accidental flash fire
AUSTIN, Texas - Two and a half weeks ago, three people in Austin High School's orchestra community were injured during an accidental flash fire.
Tuesday night, there was a benefit concert called "Waltz of the Wicked." The orchestra's "Monster Concert," a community event and fundraiser, was cut short on Oct. 21.
At "Waltz of the Wicked," students got to perform what they were supposed to play during the Monster Concert.
RELATED: Three members of Austin HS orchestra community recovering after flash fire
"They always wrap up the concert with Austin High playing all of their music, and that was the part, the kids were like, 'we want to do our music', and I'm like, 'okay, we're going to make something happen,'" Joy Lobb, president of the booster club, said.
The event also raised money for the orchestra program and honored the work of the orchestra director, Ana Maria Solis-Herrera. Her husband and son were injured at Monster Concert.
She says during that event, she was conducting onstage when she found out about what happened to her family members, and she still finished the song before rushing out to them.
"It was really chaotic, but I just tried to keep my cool and tried to remain calm," she said. "My son is recovering well, and we expect he will be released soon, going to physical therapy and occupational therapy. My husband is still in critical condition, in ICU, the doctors tell me it's still going to be three to five months in the hospital."
The third victim is an orchestra parent. He's out of the hospital and will be going back to work soon.
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Solis-Herrera says fundraising is important because her husband is someone who believes in giving students opportunities even when they don't have the means. Because Monster Concert was cut short, they weren't able to raise as much money.
There has been an outpouring of support for the orchestra community over the past few weeks.
"It's just been amazing, you always hear about these kinds of things, but I have never been a part of something this big," Lobb said.
"It has been overwhelming to see that so many students from former years have come up to see me in the hospital, people donating, the community, friends of my kids from elementary school, kindergarten, middle school and high school have been there, it's an incredibly humbling experience," Solis-Herrera said.
A GoFundMe to support the victims can be found here.