NATCHEZ — Members of the Robert Lewis Middle School orchestra literally jumped for joy when they received some good news Wednesday — they had been accepted to the National Orchestra Festival.

The festival, which will be in Atlanta in March 2009, is a competition for middle school and high school bands from all over the country.

“Hundreds of schools around the country try out for this and very few get accepted,” said Shawn Smith, instructor of the orchestra. “They only choose the groups that perform at the highest levels and are going to make a good showing.”

Although Smith has been teaching music for 12 years, this is the first time he has entered a group into the contest.

“This is the first time I’ve had a group that I thought could make it,” he said.

The selection was made even more special because they were the only school in the state to get accepted.

After several minutes of cheers and high-fives, the students all talked about how happy they were to make it.

“I’ve been calling my friends about this all summer, asking about if we’re going to make it,” said Keosha Smith, an eighth-grade violinist.

“I’ve been dreaming about this all summer,” said Rosa William, also an eighth-grade violinist. “I was praying to God we got in.”

“Out of millions of students, we’re glad we got chosen out of little bitty Natchez,” said Michael Cleveland, an eighth grade cello player. “We’ll represent Natchez real well. They’ll see a whole new outlook on strings when we’re through.”

In their audition, the group played Rondeau, by Jean-Joseph Mouret and a contemporary piece call Aztec Sunrise, Smith said. However the students play a lot of other pieces, including Mozart and Beethoven.

“They even know an Eric Clapton piece,” Smith said. “The cellos get to do the groove line,” of Sunshine of Your Love.

The benefits of the competition will extend well beyond their trip to Atlanta, Smith said.

“I told them, that’s your ticket to college, that’s your scholarship,” Smith said. “Big schools like (Southern Mississippi) are always on the hunt for string players. Even if they major in something else, that could be their tuition money.”

Although Smith said the hardest part of the competition is getting in, they still face one big hurdle — paying for the trip.

“We’re definitely going to have to raise some money,” Smith said.

“(We’ll be) begging, stealing, whatever we’ve got to do,” he added jokingly.

The orchestra auditioned for the festival in May and Smith was notified of their acceptance about three weeks ago.