FREEPORT – Stage fright wasn’t a problem for Elise LeBihan when she performed on the violin before a big crowd on Oct. 29 at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn.

LeBihan, a Waynflete School senior from Freeport, has been playing violin since the age of 4 at L’Ecole Francaise du Maine in Freeport, and has performed in front of audiences since she can remember. LeBihan put all that experience – in addition to her considerable talent – to good use when she played in the All-National Honor Ensembles Festival, sponsored by the National Association for Music Education, at the iconic music hall.

“Nervousness goes away the more you perform,” LeBihan said last Friday, a week following her return from Nashville. “I can’t remember not playing violin.”

The All-National Honor Ensembles Festival chose LeBihan to perform in an orchestra, one of four musical ensembles to perform that day. A jazz band, a mixed boys-girls choir and a regular band also played, before an audience that also enjoyed major country music acts.

The Honor Ensembles chose LeBihan, daughter of and Willy and Beth LeBihan of South Freeport, from among Maine’s best music students.

“It was amazing,” LeBihan said. “It was the experience of a lifetime.”

The orchestra played pieces by Dimitri Shostakovich and Ottorino Respighi.

LeBihan, who studies privately with Ronald Lantz of the Portland String Quartet, says she has benefited from learning to play music under the Suzuki method, which advocates that children learn to perform music at an early age, in part to alleviate stage fright.

“That really paid off,” she said. “That has helped me so much through my entire music life. Music is a language.”

Prior to the Grand Ole Opry appearance, LeBihan had performed publicly in a number of settings, ranging from concerts and recitals to playing her violin for diplomats. Those included the ambassador of France and Gov. John Baldacci at the Blaine House, when she was 7.

LeBihan loves the violin’s sound.

“The violin mimics the human voice,” she said. “It’s really like singing. By playing violin you learn more about yourself.”

Back in class at Waynflete, LeBihan has not quite “come down.”

“I can’t believe it happened,” she said. “I went back to school and I can’t believe a few days ago I was playing at the Grand Ole Opry, and there I was in math class.”

LeBihan has not yet chosen a college, but she does know this: She wants to pursue violin, French and writing.

She attended the Portland String Quartet summer workshop for two years. Last spring, she auditioned for and was accepted into the All-National Honors Symphony Orchestra of 2014. LeBihan also is a member of the Advanced Chamber Ensemble of the Portland String Quartet.

At Waynflete, LeBihan plays in a chamber group ensemble, under the direction of Julia Adams of the Portland String Quartet. She also performed with the Waynflete Chamber Group at the installation ceremony for the head of school, Geoffrey Wagg.

So it’s quite natural that LeBihan will purse musical studies in college. French is a natural, too, since her parents are co-founders and her father is principal of L’Ecole Francaise du Maine, not far from where she lives. Beth LeBihan traveled with her to Nashville and, of course, attended the concert.

“We’re very proud,” Beth LeBihan said. “Music has always been a big part of what we do at the school, and she’s been playing violin since she was 4. It was so wonderful to see all those kids from each state across the country, to validate all their hard work.”

LeBihan learned last summer she was the only Maine student chosen for the All-National Honor Ensembles Festival. She received her music by fall. Following her arrival in Nashville, she spent three 10-hour days rehearsing, prior to the Oct. 29 show.

“She’s such a good kid, and such a hard worker,” Beth LeBihan said.

Elise LeBihan of Freeport, a senior at Waynflete School in Portland, represented the school and the state in the All-National Honor Ensembles Festival on Oct. 29 at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. LeBihan is shown with her violin last summer.