Something has finally gone right in my life. This pleases me.
The list of the people who got into our school's Wind Ensemble (which is the top instrumental group) went up. And I was on it. Seated in the chair I wanted. For those who aren't familiar with the world of performing arts, one's "chair" determines the level of difficulty of the music they play. For instance, first chair plays the hardest music, and more often than not holds the melody within the section. That's not to say, of course, that the other parts aren't important. In fact, some of the second and third parts are often the most interesting, as they set the harmonies and the chord changes and whatnot.
Sorry. Talking like a future music major here...
Anyway, I'm happy. I've been nervous for the past few weeks, not necessarily about if I would get in, but about what chair I would get and what chair my friends would get (just about all of my best friends got in as well). But everything managed to work out the way we wanted it to. Sure, there were disappointments. There always are. There are ninety kids who can try out to get into Wind Ensemble, but only 35 are allowed in. Some people aren't ready their sophomore year, and won't be ready until their senior year. Some people were ready for the musical maturity and rigor since the very beginning, putting them in Wind Ensemble all three years. Some people, on the other hand, will just never be ready.
The thing about our Wind Ensemble...getting in isn't just about how well you can play. That's part of it. Our audition consists of playing a (hopefully) prepared piece. We receive a score, and that determines our position in the band. But that isn't everything. Our director considers who has the right attitude to be in the group. There are no egos. People have to take themselves out of the equation and put the band above everything else. People who don't do that aren't going to make the cut. You could get a perfect score on your playing test...but if you think you're hot stuff and put all others below you...you're not needed in that group. Sorry.
It's not about you. It's about the band.
All seriousness aside, I'm so incredibly excited for this group. There are so many talented people in there who have a great chemistry (that's another slight factor that is considered in picking people--who is going to work the best together to best benefit the band overall)...we'll do great things. We'll go very far.
Ain't no stoppin' us now.
No comments:
Post a Comment