Personal Narrative: My Journey To A High School Honor Band

Summer before junior year of high school, I was looking at a lot of standardized tests, essays, a heavier school workload, college applications, and getting a driver's license; my most immediate concern, however, was the soon to begin marching band season. Spring semester of sophomore year I had decided to audition for a leadership position in the band, and I suppose I was the best candidate because I managed to snag Section Leader for my instrument, clarinet. As the final days of July passed by, I anticipated the start of a season where I would be mentoring and teaching my fellow clarinet players the complex art of marching band. A few days before leadership camp I received a letter in the mail from the Head Band Director, Mr. Larry Brown, and immediately I knew things were not going to be what I expected.

Most schools offer a variety of activities, classes, and clubs. I personally was never interested in school or anything to do with it. Then I came across band and was instantly hooked. Band has concerts, marching band, and you get to meet new people. Band is my favorite class and here are some reasons why.

Congratulations to the students in 7th and 8th grade who spent a whole weekend at UMKC for the UMKC Honor Band and Orchestra. These students were nominated by their peers and teachers and selected by the UMKC staff. The nominees had to perform a solo piece to audition for seating. There were more than 25 other local middle schools participating in this festival, and Prairie Star did quite well with a whopping 13 students accepted to the festival.

As with most kids, I was a bit nervous about my transition from middle school to high school. One advantage I had was that I participated in band in middle school and planned to be in the band in high school. The Round Rock High School band has a history of excellence and I was looking forward to being a part of that organization. This was an extraordinary time and I looked forward to being a part of the band with great anticipation. Being a part of an organization such as this makes the transition to high school seem much easier and it seemed I had a ready-made group of friends that I could rely on and ask questions of if necessary. After all, the Round Rock High School Band has over 300 members.

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

   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

The summer of 2013 was both a time of celebration, as I had just graduated middle school, and a time of insecurities, as I started my journey as a member of my high school’s marching band. In middle school, I was normally a shy, quiet person, so it comes as no surprise that I felt uncomfortable at my first marching band practice. In addition, very few of my band friends in middle school had continued into high school marching band, creating a feeling of isolation over me.

Of course like the band nerd I am, I was really excited to try out and hopefully be a part of something that is much bigger than yourself. So a couple weeks after trying out, I figure out that I have made the marching band as a freshman! I also figured out that some of the Washington clarinets made it too. So after I passed eighth grade, summer finally came and I had to learn all of this challenging music that was above my knowledge and had to turn them into to a website to prove that I was practicing. Near end of July came and I had to go the dreaded band

In eighth grade I was first chair trumpet player for the J.A.M.S. band. I led the band in most songs and the band teacher made me feel like I was the best trumpet player ever. In eighth grade I was again accepted into a junior high honor band just as I had been in seventh grade. In eighth grade however I was not concerned about chair placements at the honor band as I had been in seventh grade. When I went to honor band in seventh grade I received a second chair placement. An eighth grader received first chair. Therefore, I thought I was almost guaranteed first chair as I was an eighth grader now so in my mind no one would beat me.

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.

Never in a day would I have dreamed of joining the marching band. As an eighth grader, the idea of joining the marching band sounded horrendous. I never imagined myself as that “nerd”. Now, today as a senior in high school, I am so glad that I made the spontaneous decision to join as marching band was a significant chapter of my life.

To me JSU honor band is like no other thing I have ever seen. The most amazement I have ever had in a true feeling is, seeing that people from other bands from all over the state can come together to make something great. Six of my seven times going there was because of my brother. That was nothing fun as all I could do was sit in a nasty dorm room. Then finally, Saturday rolls around. Saturday you get to hear all the bands and all the work in just three days. My favorite time was me getting to go as a seventh grader.

It was a sweltering day on August 17, 2017. The sun penetrated the sparse clouds, leaving limited space for shade and relaxation. Marching band camp was well underway, and an army of two hundred musicians invaded the football field for warm ups, despite the less than ideal summer heat. At the count of “5, 6, 7, 8”, all of our strides were perfectly synchronized; the unity in our actions much akin to a thousand drones controlled by a single remote.

When I was in high school, there was a band in my school that compete in the state competition every year, but I do not know whether this band still exist now or not since I have heard that they do not have enough members now. I was a member of it back then.

Ever since I was in fifth grade, a dream of mine had always been to make it into my high school’s marching band. During my first year in Broken Arrow, my mother and I went to go see our band for its send off performance. I remember sitting high up in the stadium, completely blown away by what I saw on the field. As a child, I was just fascinated by how fun everything looked; my favorite moment was when I saw tuba players riding bicycles on the field. I had no idea at the time, but my mother and I had just witnessed a nationally acclaimed band that, at the time, had won two Grand National Championships.