Cari Eckert beamed while playing her cello with the Helena High School Chamber Orchestra for Gov. Brian Schweitzer Monday morning at the Montana Historical Society.

"It's really exciting playing for the governor, but I wasn't any more nervous than for other performances," said Eckert, a sophomore.

The performance was a festive addition to an annual event. Each year at a Montana State Land Board meeting, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation symbolically presents its annual contribution to Montana public education funding.

The money - $70.7 million this year - is generated from the management of school trust lands.

It goes into three separate accounts: $53.4 million for public schools base aid; $15.4 million for school facility improvements; and $1.9 million for the state's technology acquisition fund.

The money is generated from four DNRC programs, along with interest earned from the permanent public school trust fund.

Those programs include agriculture and grazing, minerals, real estate and forest management.

The revenue comes from timber harvesting and forest improvement; oil and gas and other mineral leases; commercial development; issuance of easements and cabin-site leases; agriculture and grazing leases; and recreational use.

The musical component of Monday's event came after John Grassy, public information officer for DNRC, heard the group perform earlier in the school year.

"It shows what public education can do for music," Grassy said.

Beth Mazanec, the orchestra instructor at Helena and Capital high schools, said the performance was unique because of the time of day.

"This is not our usual concert, which are evening performances at our schools," she said. "There is something special about this daytime concert."

Mazanec said the audience was also a new experience for her and her 35 students.

"This is not our usual audience base," she said.

Brook Gould, a junior, started playing the upright bass in the sixth grade after her parents convinced her that if she wanted to play the electric bass well in a rock 'n' roll band, she'd need to learn the upright bass first.

"I've dreamed since the fifth grade to be in a rock 'n' roll band - I'm not going to lie," Gould said. "But this is a lot of fun and I still have the electric bass."

Reporter Alana Listoe: 447-4081 or alana.listoe@helenair.com