An Amazing Experience For Any Band Student

A couple of months later competition season came and I was so nervous to go out there and perform in front of a lot of people. After the first

During my junior year, all high school students of the Coachella Valley were given the opportunity to audition for the All Coachella Valley Honor Band, with a guest conductor H. Robert Reynolds. This was a significant educational opportunity I took advantage of. The audition consisted of a couple of scales, and excerpts from the music that was going to be performed on the day of the concert. When the day came I sat in front of the judge with my music and clarinet, where my nerves began to rise. Before I began to play my heart began to pound along with my hands beginning to sweat. Throughout my audition I had a few mistakes,but I stayed persistent and completed my audition. After I finished my audition, the judge said I had done great, I was

I had to get that audition, if I did I was in. Honor band always had at least one kid from our band in each section. All I had to do was get past Mr. Higgens. I had been stressing that whole week and now it was time. This year the clarinets would go before the saxophones. After everyone had played was when the audition sheets would be handed out. The clarinets played and it was clear who would be given a sheet and who would not. Then it was time for the saxophones, first chair went first as always, that meant I had less time to freak out. Before I knew it, it was my turn. I was just as nervous as I was last year, yes, I had improved but I still had an immense amount of self doubt. I pushed everything out of my mind and began. I got through smoothly, but of course it was hard to determine if I had done well since I was hard on myself. The rest of the saxophones played through and we all waited as our conductor jotted down notes. He picked up the honor sheets and began to pass them out. Only a couple of the clarinets were handed a sheet, he then turned to the saxophone section. He passed one to first chair, then there was a second in between that I swear lasted for hours, my heart seemed to drop but also was under attack at the same time. My mind went to chaos. “This is silly, I'm in sixth grade and stressing out over this?” “ Life will go on if I don't get it.” “ But if I don't I'll always remember.” “This stupid piece of

It was October first when I woke up in my nice and cozy bed. Awakened by my light in my room and my mom yelling: “Rachel get up! You have to get ready for band.” I slowly opened my eyes and got up to go eat my usual breakfast, a Pop Tart. After I threw everything down, I got into my car and headed to the school. Once I got there I could see the two yellow buses that were going to take us to our destination. Everybody was all still tired and looked like they just got out of bed, with their hair in buns and in the clothes they slept inform the night before. When everyone eventually got on the buses we headed off to Sioux Falls. The whole ride there I wasn’t very nervous because I’ve performed this marching show so much but the tables will soon

I have very little confidence in singing and performing in front of people, so when I tried out for the talent show at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, I legitimately

On February 25, 2016, I was able to see the Mid-Year Band Concert in the PAC. The pieces I have chosen to review were performed by the Varsity, Symphonic II and Symphonic I Bands and conducted by Mr. Bailey and Mr. Hillhouse. “King Cotton,” “Amparito Roca,” and “Valdres” were among my favorites in the program and are all coincidentally, marches.

Audition day came and I was confident enough in my work ethic and assumed I was going to advance to the next stage in the competition to become an All Stater. However, the results weren’t in my favor I came out 3rd and it motivated me to become more of an overachiever and learn my music faster. My junior year in high school I went into full gear and I prepared myself even more for the region audition. I came out first and I still remember my reaction. I was happy but still determined to become an All Stater. My area auditions came around and I was more excited than ever. I had practiced everyday of Christmas break. I went into the audition excited and confident. Finally, the results came out and I came out first chair and at that moment I knew that I wanted to do this for the rest of my

They had warned me it would be lots of after school rehearsals, clinics I would have to attend, and concerts I would have to attend as well. I told myself I could definitely do it. So I accepted the invitation and joined the top group. From being in the symphonic band my 7th and 8th grade year, I knew I had matured as a player tenfold. Then, high school came around. I told myself all the time that I would be the best one there as a freshman. Oh boy, was I wrong. When I went for freshman band camp in 2010, I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Learning to march in time with the band and having to memorize the music all at once, I told myself I was fool coming here. But the passion I had for music kept me going. So I suffered through band camp for 4 weeks in a row. Memorizing the music, marching and playing at the same time definitely made me mature as a

Smiling to myself at the memory, I thought of how much I had grown since that audition. I remembered the concerts I had performed in, the choirs I had tried out for, the sectionals I had lead. My growing confidence in my musical abilities had spilled over into other areas of my life, too: I spoke more in class and I no longer hesitated to try new things. I fondly glanced around the chorus room one last time, mentally absorbing every detail. I closed the door behind me, not feeling like running anymore, and strode the rest of the way down the hall, moving on to the next stage of my

Standing outside the door I felt a sense of relief, but I also felt like a failure. I had spent hours preparing for this audition only to fail in a matter of seconds. When the final callbacks were posted and my name was not listed I was reminded yet again of my failure. However, I knew that this was not a true indication of my musical talent. I was accepted in my district band and that is what I am still proud of

In seventh grade, I decided to audition for the higher ranking jazz ensemble at my middle school, Jazz I, one of the few bands in the school that had both seventh, and eighth graders. As always, I did a great job of finding things to worry about. Things such as what if I wasn’t good enough to be in the band? Since the moment that I picked up my dad’s trumpet and tried to play, I’ve loved playing. I wanted more than anything to be in the jazz band. We had played some jazz in band before, but nothing like what they play in Jazz I. I brought home the audition sheet the day that it got posted on the wall, and practiced every night until the audition. On the day of the audition, I walked into the room, greeted the teacher, and played through the sheet of scales and exercises as well as I could.

First drumline practice of my freshman year. Utterly terrified. My brother assured me that everything would be ok, as it was for him in the four years prior to this moment.

I remembered the first audition I have ever done before. It wasn't a real audition. Like the one i'm doing now. It was a school play. I was in the chorus.Not really a part, but this was no school play. This was a real business theater. Not everyone got a part. In school plays everyone had a part no matter how horrible you are.

On the night of March 16th, 2016 hundreds of family members and friends came to view the spectacular band performance of 219 students at Calaveras High School in the Flock Gymnasium for the annual District Band Festival. The combination of students trained at schools throughout the Calaveras Unified School District truly created breathtaking event for both families and students.

David E. Becker, the Director of Orchestral Studio, he create an event. It was a music event at Texas Tech University; its name is University Symphonysa Orchestra at Hemmle Recital Hall, yesterday, October 30, at 7:00 PM.