Failing Band Research Paper
A young man steps out from the library. He carries a long, neatly-written sheet of names. As he walks up the steps to the main gym where at least two hundred teens are gathered, one yells out, “He’s coming!” and the room goes silent. A wall will soon be filled with names of students that will rejoice and cry tears of joy; others who may not appear will cry tears of sadness. This is, commonly called by All-State auditioners, the Wailing Wall. Twenty-four vocal and four band students from West Delaware will audition on Oct. 22 at the high school in hopes of their name being displayed on the Wailing Wall and confirming they are accepted into the All-State Choir or Band/Orchestra. A single audition is made up of bits and pieces of songs and/or scales. Vocally, songs range in languages from English to Latin, even Haitian. For some students, pronunciation is tough.
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“It was difficult to learn, and, honestly, who the heck knows German?” However, vocal director Duane Philgreen and instrumental director Mark Philgreen helped musicians avoid issues like this and other musicality errors. Francie Head from Monticello was also credited a major contributor for students’ success.
Throughout the four months, Davenport and Oelwein high schools offered multiple workshops along with colleges, such as UNI, to help students rehearse the music. Auditions can be described as a roller coaster of emotions. From stress to delightment, frustration to plain awesomeness, every student experienced their ups and downs throughout the process. “I try not to get overworked,” two-time All-State Choir member Mariah Seeley (11) said. “[I] focus more on self-improvement on singing and the practice time we’ve put into it.”
Junior Ben Litterer also “tries to do [his] best” on audition day and hopes that being accepted into All-State
“It was difficult to learn, and, honestly, who the heck knows German?” However, vocal director Duane Philgreen and instrumental director Mark Philgreen helped musicians avoid issues like this and other musicality errors. Francie Head from Monticello was also credited a major contributor for students’ success.
Throughout the four months, Davenport and Oelwein high schools offered multiple workshops along with colleges, such as UNI, to help students rehearse the music. Auditions can be described as a roller coaster of emotions. From stress to delightment, frustration to plain awesomeness, every student experienced their ups and downs throughout the process. “I try not to get overworked,” two-time All-State Choir member Mariah Seeley (11) said. “[I] focus more on self-improvement on singing and the practice time we’ve put into it.”
Junior Ben Litterer also “tries to do [his] best” on audition day and hopes that being accepted into All-State