My Writing A Wrong Note By Giovanni Battista Viotti

During senior year of high school, I decided to learn the violin. I have always loved the timbre of the instrument and I longed to develop a talent that I could call my own. However, my progress was slow. My arms and fingers always tensed up when I began playing a piece. Yet, my violin instructor never let me give up. Every time I put my violin down he would urge me to continue. “Don’t hesitate,” he would tell me. “Be confident in what you play even if you make a mistake.”

When the concert first began, the three instrumentalists walked with energy despite their age. The first song, “Sonata I in G-Major Op. 2, Nr. 1” by Michel Blavet, was a Baroque Sonata. There were five movements and was played by the harpsichord, flute, and cello. All movements of the song were polyphonic because of the three instruments that had different parts and equal importance. In the first movement, I noticed that the flute tended to rise in pitch. In the second movement, I noticed that the melodies often repeated. Throughout the rest of the song the tempo changed from fast to slow and the flute would usually take the lead. On the last movement, the cello and the harpsichord

During this past school year I have contributed my time, effort and dedication into all of the rehearsals, practices, performances and every other thing I have done in this program. Hard work is another thing I have contributed to this band, not only through playing and memorizing music, but also by loading and unloading props, staying after school to set up for concerts, and by vacuuming and other cleaning tasks that are needed around the band room.

High school has never been the worst years of my life. It has been difficult, but I had never felt like it was truly wonderful or meaningful until this year. This past summer, I joined the marching band, and since then my life has changed drastically. Marching band has increased the quality of my high school life, given me the opportunity to impact others, and taught me more about myself than I knew before. Being in marching band, I have made an abundant amount of friendships that never before have I experienced.

All I have lived for this autumn was watching you grow in ways that nobody had ever expected. You may never understand how many expectations you surpassed or how many limits you broke. You grabbed each possibility for success by its handle and ran with them. As you look back on these past six months, I hope you realize your hard work was appreciated. All the blood, sweat, frustration, joy, and tears that were poured into every rehearsal, competition, and after hours have made this program into what it is. Without your dedication, sassy remarks, and strong leadership, the Alta Marching Band would not be what it is.

Through weekly private lessons, chamber, wind, and orchestra ensemble playing, and assiduous independent practice, I have improved immensely as a trombonist and musician. My work paid off when I was accepted into Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute. At this nationally competitive program, I spent six weeks with talented, dedicated students while rubbing shoulders with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). I had never heard elite musicians live before the BSO. Their concerts brought tears to my eyes and my drive to make music at the highest level grew. After receiving instruction from these musicians and hearing their own performances, I refined my technique and made more tasteful musical decisions.

   When I moved back to Georgia the first time, I was placed into an orchestra class that made me feel like a 30 year-old woman stuck in first grade. I was uncomfortable with the fact that I wasn't being challenged and my love for music was slowly diminishing. It wasn't until I moved back to Virginia that I was put into one of the most highly-recognized high school orchestras in Chesapeake, Grassfield High School. My orchestra director, Mr. Vutsinas, pushed me to new heights of musicality that I did not know I could not

Video Jury-I expressed a strong tone, a correct hand position for my bow and proper technique while playing during my video jury. 2. During my performance, I could improve on the accuracy of my fingerings to gain a greater intonation accuracy. In addition, by demonstrating the rhythms and dynamics in Pavane, it would improve the dynamic contrast that should be heard from the start to the end of the piece. 3. This year, I will adequately finalize each piece for my senior recital. This will include meeting with my collaborators during and outside of school. I will grasp the ability to sight read and continue to challenge myself with pieces that I have not played before. Furthermore, I will improve my note accuracy in scales, specifically, third position scales through fifth

Due to my failure to make All State, I recognized that I did not need the recognition, the big performance and the medal that is given out. What truly mattered was the improvement that I achieved as a musician. In those short summer months, I had polished my scales and sharpened my sight reading skills. I was ready for my next audition which propelled me to the second highest band in my high school band program, the Symphonic Band. Competition for this band is usually very high and I was quite proud to have achieved such an

The week before all-state orchestra auditions meant everything needed to be perfect. I would meticulously practice my cello for extended periods of time, revisiting the same difficult passages until I was satisfied or my fingers became numb. There were few performance opportunities in South Dakota like all-state orchestra so I was determined to give a superb audition. Yet, regardless of the outcome I always felt proud, knowing I had done everything I could. Through these experiences I refined qualities such as excellence and diversity, which I anticipate will strengthen the student body, faculty, and mission at the Creighton University School of Medicine.

On Saturday, December 12th, the High School Philharmonic All-Region Orchestra performed a variety of fascinating pieces. They were directed by Professor Edward Kawakami from Carthage College. The region orchestra began the concert with “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4 op. 39” by Edward Elgar. The next piece that the orchestras performed was “Clair de Lune” by Claude Debussy. The last piece that the High School Philharmonic All-Region Orchestra performed was “Samson and Dalila Dance Bacchanale op. 47” by Camille Saint-Saens.

Following the few words was the Cello Concerto of Sir Edward Edgar. Structured with four movements rather then three opens with slow and poignant music. It reminded me of the music that you hear when someone is mourning from loosing someone. It had its ups and downs in-between and the third was like energy broken down with mourning while going into the forth was the longest and most overly dramatic, it brought the audience to its feet. The performance was soothing and relaxing and amazing to see that each one of those people on that grand stage added something to make the piece special. With that being one of the first symphony performances I

On May 20th of this year, I will be graduating from De Kalb High School, and as I look back I cannot help but feel accomplished and proud. During my eighth grade year, our high school band was in desperate need of marchers, so seven lucky eighth graders, including myself, joined the band. From there I was able to earn honors in band, such as a chair in the A/ AA/ AAA Honor Band twice, a chair in the All-Band four times, a chair in the All-Area Band, a chair in the All- State Band, 2015-2016 DHS Band Sweetheart, Band Librarian for four years, Head Librarian this year, Band Council Class Representative and Vice President, Woodwind Squad Leader, Clarinet Section Leader, Woodwind Captain, Band Council Representative, Most Outstanding Musician

I have played the trumpet for 9 years and I dabble in the piano, and this year it really took off for me. I moved up the the lead trumpet in the Wind Ensemble Competition Band at John Jay and it has been an amazing experience, and I have learned a lot from the other musicians and students in the band. In addition to playing in the Wind Ensemble, which is our main band, I also help out playing trumpet in the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Symphonic Orchestra, Jazz Band, and our Brass Ensemble. It has definitely been a lot, but it is a great learning experience. Tomorrow I will be going down to the elementary schools to help out the young trumpet players and motivate them to stay with our music program, which is very well developed at John Jay. Overall, music has been a big part of my life this year, and it has been going

| 1. Accepting new responsibilities and tasks at work.2. Got in to the school band, to let off my flute skills.