And the Link Up! concert with the Saratoga orchestra and Oak Harbor School District 3rd graders today was a lot of fun. Always a great time!
But the purpose of this blog today is to provide some advice, And this is short and sweet advice: As a music student (and even as an amateur, pro, etc.), take advantage of opportunities in the music world. I speak primarily to middle & high school students, since that's who I deal with. If you really want to go into music as a career and be successful at it, start seizing opportunities outside your normal school activities now. Participate in solo & ensemble. Play in community ensembles. Play in extracurricular student ensembles. Take lessons. Lesson teachers are great resources to get you doing all this stuff. I know some of this stuff costs money, but it's an incredibly worthwhile investment.
Furthermore, if you really want to succeed in music, make it high on your priority list. Of course, school work is #1, but music shouldn't be that far behind. I strongly believe it should be #2, particularly when you're a junior or senior. More important that sports. More important than work (what I mean is make work revolve around music events; I don't mean to say to not work at all!). More important that dating, or a social life. I'm not saying one shouldn't date or have friends, but that music should come before them. That's how one succeeds in music.
Now, if you put music lower and lower on the priority list, where friends come before practice, where "I can play with this group because I have to work", then you will have a much harder time succeeding in music. And opportunities are gonna slip by. And before you know it, you will grow up and realize all the opportunities you missed.
For me, I took advantage of some opportunities in high school, particularly my senior year. I made everything revolve around music because I had chosen it for my career by then, and I knew I could always count on it. I played with 2 youth orchestra, participated in honor bands and festivals, and played with the community band here on Whidbey Island. But that was just my senior year. I wish I had done that stuff in years past. I only participated in Solo & Ensemble one year. I never auditioned for the Seattle Youth Symphony, and I could have. I'm bummed I didn't seize opportunities then.
So I push this same idea to my students. I provide opportunities for them, which most of them take. I'm really saddened, though, when I have a very promising student who takes lessons or who is part of the brass program suddenly quite from it, because "life gets to busy". Again, if they really wanted to do music, life would never get in the way of it, short of some kind of family emergency or sudden health issue. Kids who take lessons or are in my brass ensembles give me the impression that they really love music and want to do it for a long time in their lives. So when someone who is progressing well stops because of "life", I get bummed. They're missing out on opportunities. They aren't prioritizing music, so I suppose that a career in music may not be for them. It's alright, though. It's not for everyone.
So yeah, opportunities. Take advantaged of them. Always. At every level. Because if you really care about music, you will regret letting opportunities go. I sure do. So I try to prevent it.
Take care and value music.