When Danny Spoor was chosen as a violinist for the Utah All-State Orchestra in November, it was a great privilege. Danny began playing the violin when he was four and has been playing ever since. The role of playing in this renowned orchestra is a great opportunity for any musician.

However, Danny had other obligations.

“Sadly, I couldn’t do it, because it interfered with a hockey tournament, a pretty high-level one in Detroit. I had to pick which one I could do and I couldn’t let my team down. I had to pick the tournament over all-state.”

Danny has been playing the sport on ice for the past eight years. He recalled the first time he skated, at a birthday party.

“I just fell in love with being on the ice,” Danny said. “So I started playing hockey, and I found that was my sport.” Since then, he’s been a passionate hockey player and balances his time across activities. “I’ve been doing hockey and violin together for so long, I’ve kind of learned how to manage my time and learn how to balance it out. It’s all worked pretty well.”

He is currently working on a very difficult piece, Praeludium and Allegro, by Fritz Kreisler. “It’s taking forever,” Danny said. “It’s insane. Syncing every little detail, every bow stroke, I have to pay attention to everything, so it can be a little taxing. But it’s going to be really nice when I get it fully done.”

However, playing both the sport and the instrument has had its difficulties.

“Hockey four times a week, violin every night. Sometimes I have to push violin to midnight, sometimes I’m not getting off the ice until ten at night. There’s always time in the day to find time to practice both, to figure out what personal time I have left and what I can do with that time.”

Danny is looking into colleges that give him the option to play both violin and hockey. He’s interested in attending the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. “I went and skated with the team, and the coach told me that I would start center freshman year, which is pretty cool.” The Coast Guard Academy also has an orchestra that is split with Connecticut College. “It’s a pretty good string orchestra, and I think that would be a really good opportunity to still get to play music throughout college and play hockey.”

“I plan on continuing to play both,” Danny said.