On Saturday I get to see four of my dear students graduate: Isadora, Hannah, Skooter and Joseph. These guys are all like my children, and I have grown to love them. I gave them each a very heartfelt speech and tribute at my brass studio recital yesterday, and I played the first movement of the Ewald 3rd quintet with them...man, it was a very special performance, and very fun. And we played really well, also.
But it's starting to affect me, them graduating. I'm really going to miss seeing them every week and miss their playing. They are such major contributors to this studio, and to their school band program. I'm very sad.
But ah yes, the brass studio recital. It was great, and a lot fo fun! It was full of many small ensemble performances: brass quartets, a horn quartet, a trombone quartet, a trumpet trio, some duets and solos, and of course, the senior brass quintet. Every group played with such musical heart, and demonstrated good musicianship by not letting mistakes stop them...across the board, from the beginners to the advanced players. And, at the end of the recital we played an original work by me as a world premiere (it feels really great to write something original again): A piece called "Momento" (I spelled it this way on the score instead of "Memento", a case where both spellings are acceptable). It was a tribute piece to our seniors, as well as to the beginners and 2nd-year players. It featured melody fragments from favorite pieces of the seniors that we have done throughout the years, in the form of solos for them. The bulk of the piece incorporated melodies from the beginning band book they use here in Oak Harbor. And, I finish it off from a favorite fragment from my Harbor Brass March No. 1. It was a really fun piece to play, and the kids loved it...and it sounded pretty good, too! Once I get the recital videos clipped and edited, I will share this one with you.
Tonight I played with the Anacortes High School Wind Ensemble once again as one of several guests brought in by direct Chris Dyel, which included other adult professionals and also my students Hannah and Isadora, whom Chris really likes. We played a killed program of Wagner's Rienzi Overture, Grainger's Gum Suckers March, and Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral (again, by Wagner). So yes, amazing music. And yes, the Wind Ensemble played amazingly well, as always. There was so much more to this concert, though. Chris features all of his bands, 6th through 12th grade, on one concert usually. So I got to hear them all. And I'm telling ya, each and every one of his bands sound really good. They play with such hard, and were so well prepared. It's a testament to the fact that Chris Dyel is an amazing band teacher (the best I have personally known) and the great community in Anacortes, which is very supportive of the arts. It's just awesome to watch and even more amazing to be a part of.
It got me thinking, as well. I decided last year I wanted to pursue band teaching because I felt more destined to teach than anything, and I would enjoy getting to work with more students and work with them every day. But as I talked with people more and thought it through over the last year, I wasn't quite sure...I mean, it couldn't be all peaches and cream being a band teacher, could it? Not every kid would be perfect and easy to deal with. Would I have the patience for a job like that? Could I handle being on the spot like that? Would the students just view me as just another teacher in their school to them, and thus we wouldn't bond as well as we do now? Even...would I be good enough for it? Well, after seeing this concert yesterday, I concluded that Chris has a pretty sweet job, and despite that crap that is inevitable when you teach at a public school, if you are passionate and caring, if you aim for the positives, and are completely selfless, that it is all worth it, and at the end of the school year, you feel incredibly satisfied because you know you made a difference with so many people. I'm sure that's how he felt after last night. All of those students wanted to play for him. Not only the Anacortes students, but the alumni that came in as guests, the pros like myself, and the Oak Harbor kids he invited. I'm not gonna lie, I idolize this man.
Now, don't get me wrong: I really love doing what I do right now. I have a pretty sweet job, as well. And I aim to continue putting my heart into it. I mean, this recital was amazing. And the brass ensemble concert back on May 22 was great, as well! And we've got the brass camp looming...
Ah yes, the brass camp. I'm feeling ambitious this year with programming.,.I'm thinking of a couple pieces that are more difficult technically that anything we've done...but if I show passion for it, they will to.
So that's what I am going to do. I'm going to keep looking forward. As I struggle to deal with the looming absence of my graduating seniors and trying to figure out what my future entails, I have to be focused on the moment and the immediate future. I need to always remember to be passionate in music and work hard and serve them. The students. Serve them. My mind has to go there...and everything will be fine.
Take care and value music.