The fourth through eighth grade choristers enter onto the risers on the stage in organized rows, hands at their sides, shoulders back and aligned with nervous smiles across their faces. This is the students first time being adjudicated The auditorium is full of other students, teachers, and adjudicators from around the city ready to hear the product of weekly after school rehearsals throughout the school year. The chorus director looks around the auditorium and counts five former music instructors and the nostalgia of being that fourth-eighth grader on stage with those instructors floods the director's mind. She smiles, bows to the audience, turns, and gives a reassuring thumbs up to the bright, developing musicians in front of her.…
“When I first started here back in 2000, I was the only female conductor in the Suburban East Conference” recalled Marie Dymit. When she was in high school her conductor, Lee Carlson, was a male teacher but she remembers him always pushing her to do what she wanted to do in life. He fueled her passion for choir with the passion he put into his choir groups. He was her role model in high school and even now because he is a big part of why she choose to be a choir…
The summer before eighth grade, the music studio and I got intimate for the first time. I was 12 years old and I got my first solo piece. The moment my hands touched the brand new music sheet and speech, my chest lifted up as my teeth grew in sight with pride. I was going to perform “Heart” from the Broadway musical, Damn Yankees. The level of excitement brewing within me exploded as my anticipation excelled for the upcoming performance.…
I am a part of the Huntsville Community Chorus Youth Chorale. We are a choir made up of kids in grades 7-12. Last year we were invited to sing with choirs all over the country for Mr. John Rutter’s last performance at Carnegie Hall. We would be in the first act singing Gloria. It was an amazing honor for all of us. We spent lots of time preparing this song all year, and it was definitely a challenge. It was very difficult to learn a song of this complexity in a way that was worthy of a performance like this. On May 22 our choir got on the plane to New York, overflowing with excitement for the days to come. We drove through the city towards our hotel. We spent the rest of the day exploring Times Square. The following three days were filled…
In band class, Ms. Watson had all the soloists play their pieces. Joseph listened to the other soloists play. Some were flawless the first time through, while others stopped and started as Ms. Watson guided them with feedback.…
As I pulled my hat on, a deluge of panic rushed over me. Suddenly, I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack. I couldn’t have one - not after I’d worked so hard on controlling it. But as we lined up at the end zone, I knew I’d be okay. One last run through, one last push. With chins up and eyes wide with pride, we marched onto the football field, our hearts pounding, to our opening positions. I listened as the crowd cheered for us and the drum major, the leader and conductor of the band, saluted to express the band was ready. I performed my heart out, hitting every position, playing every note with all of my passion. Within nine fleeting minutes, we struck that last impact with everything we had and snapped our horns down, then hustled…
Ever since I stopped playing the piano, I yearned to learn a new instrument. After testing out a wide range of instruments from the trombone to the guitar, I finally found one that fit my personality: the clarinet. Then over the years, I started to learn the different techniques to better my playing, all while performing with the Kansas City Youth Symphony, school band programs, and the spring musicals. But as the curtain fell for the last time on the musical my freshman year, the District Music Festival was looming just around the corner. Through my preparation for Districts, I learned that everybody can have a different…
As we entered the last week of practice, I wanted relish what I thought would be the last few moments of the season. The varsity head coach was present at the last day of practice, and I was surprised when he pulled me aside during a drill. He told me that he had noticed my success during the season, and he wanted me to join the varsity team; for the varsity team still had two weeks of practice left before the state tournament. I held in my excitement and accepted his offer.…
Whether it being onstage in my school's production of High School Musical or being in a crowd of other classmates playing my saxophone with my best friend during a band concert. Weather singing in my school choir or yelling loud at a cheer competition I became engulfed in the conversation between audience and performer, and through these performances I have made blissful memories. I would not have the opportunity I have today if it weren't for Mrs. Harvey, my 8th grade choir teacher, demanding that I audition for our middle school honor choir. I never would have known the love and the passion that I have for music and I would not be the person I am today.…
Walking into the band room for the first time, the sound of every instrument being poorly played by fourth graders suffocated the room. The squeal of saxophones and blaring bass of tubas made it impossible to hear the instructions being given by the band director. However, none of that mattered to me. All I could do was to stare at the only thing in the room that was able to grasp my attention: a shiny, red drum set. I migrated to the back corner of the room where it sat unoccupied, took my place on the stool, picked up some sticks, and immediately felt at home. At that moment, it was clear to me that playing music was what I was meant to do.…
It wasn’t until the end of my freshman year that I began to understand part of the connotation of his words. He was a man to speak from experience, and I truly believed him. That same year, I was named number 5 of my class, tied with four other people, for the class of 2016, with a GPA of 3.900. Quite frankly, I was surprised to see how far I had gotten up without knowing or trying as hard as I could have. As I entered sophomore year, I began with a determined mindset. A mindset that was moderately similar to the one I had been surrounded with in band. As my director spoke about how one’s determination, integrity and work ethic can take a person with nothing to the end of the line with everything. I had never thought about how obtainable the craziest dream could really be until this individual shared his ideals with the rest of the family…
I could not wait to see my name. My stomach dropped. It wasn’t there. I was sure it had to be a mistake or a typo. I hurried to my director’s office with tears forming in my eyes. “There has to be a mistake,” I said. She told me to sit down then said, “I have seen you dance, and I know you can give me more.” She proceeded to tell me that she had seen me grow up dancing, and would not take anything less than the best. I felt horrible, and even considered quitting the team, but she wouldn’t let me.…
In those moments, whether it be during a performance, singing on the bus on the way to a competition, or holding hands while we waited for our score, I found where I belonged. In those moments, I learned to open up to opportunities, no matter how small they may seem. In those moments, I learned to love and appreciate the diversity in those around me. In those moments, I wasn’t afraid to be who…
I could hear the bustle of people out in the crowd as I was getting ready for the dance recital. As I started to get ready for the first dance, someone came in and told us we were going to be starting in a few minutes. We all went and lined up at the foot of the stage because we were one of the first people to go on. “Your next,” I heard from the people helping back stage. Right then I had to run through all of the steps to the dance in my head to make sure that I had everything right. I had worked on the dances for the last 9 months. It was our turn to go on stage.…
To those who have tried and have lost, do not despair. There is always a time for winning and a time for losing. There's always a reason the way things turn out to the way they are. Everyone wants to win but it is beyond our control - we can only try our best. I congratulate you for trying, never mind if you did not win what is important is you have tried your best. Let us learn not to measure ourselves against the Olympics; doing so would make us lead very unhappy lives. Let us just find joy in doing our best - not measured by someone else but measured by us. For those who have never tried to compete because they believe they have no talent, that is not so - you'll never know what you've got until you try. No matter how simple we are, we are still creations of God, we are here for a very significant role; you may not be the best singer, but you can be the singer's best friend. I would like to share a part of Douglas Malloch's poem which runs this way……