I'm excited about each and every one of these students, too. Here's why:
Daniel: He's a senior trumpeter down at South Kitsap High School, and used to go to Oak Harbor. He's been doing virtual lessons for years (long before it was cool), and still has managed to improve tremendously. He was one of my two principal trumpets in my brass ensemble for a long time, and always has had this amazing sound. He's playing the Ropartz "Andante & Allegro", and has come a very long way with it.
Paige: She's a senior trumpeter here in Oak Harbor. She's been sort of an on-off lesson student of mine, but has constantly been in the brass ensemble since the beginning, so we both consider her one of my students. I'm been working with her on helping her prepare her solo, the Balay "Petite Piece Concertante", which she played to win the trumpet solo category here in the SJMEA Region. She has been a consistent leader in my brass ensembles and a very confident player, able to handle anything technically demanding with ease. This experience has been great for her to help her with her musical playing.
Isadora: She's a junior trumpeter at Oak Harbor High School, and has really been kind of like an "underdog story" or "comeback kid". She has probably been my most hardest-working student ever, coming from just being an average player to being one of the leaders in her school, one who has really impressed me and her band teacher. She shows that hard work is just as good as talent, and she remembers well the musical details in her piece. She's also playing the Balay "Petite Piece Concertante". She was a the runner-up to Paige, and so I'm veery happy she gets to have this prestigious opportunity!
Keilani: She's a senior hornist in Oak Harbor, and sort of another "underdog" story. She started playing trumpet in in 8th grade, and switched to horn a couple years later. So she kind of got a late start on brass, but has a lot of natural talent, so things have come easy for her. She won the solo horn category here in the SJMEA region with the 1st Richard Strauss Concerto. She's come such a long way on the horn in a short time, developing a really nice sound.
Ethan: He's a freshmen hornist at Oak Harbor High School, and was a runner-up to Keilani. He's always been an outstanding player for his age, and he's had a lot of experience playing some very difficult music being a part of my brass ensemble program and the brass camp. I could consider him "battle-hardened". He's been an amazing horn student since he started it in 6th grade with me after doing trumpet lessons for a year. I'm very excited for him to go as a freshmen to this thing. He's playing the 1st movement of Mozart 3
Leah: She's a senior hornist down at South Whidbey High School, and was actually a runner-up to her region (I forget which one), so it's really great she got selected. She's been doing online lessons with me for about a year and a half, and has grown tremendously and responded well with my help. She is also playing the 1st movement of Mozart 3, and it playing it was such a great musical and technical approach.
Lola: She's a sophomore trombonist up here in Oak Harbor, and one that I've taught from the very beginning of her playing career. Everyone in my student agrees that she's my most talented student, and is always the talk of every solo recital we have. She's a model student, being a very good talent and working very hard. Glad to finally have her in high school so she can show everyone at this even what she can do.
Penn Cove Brass: Of course, you've heard me go on and on about my brass ensemble. There's 9 of them int he group this time: Paige, Hannah, Sam, Landon, Ethan, Cooper, Lola, Reagan and Joseph. They're just really good, folks, and I feel they deserve to play at State. It very challenging to win the large ensemble category, but we're in the making of a winning performance...in my opinion.
Penn Cove Brass Quartet: This group consists of 4 members of the Penn Cove Brass, and was just sort of an impromptu project to give kids an extra opportunity to get to State...and it worked! This particular group doesn't play together regularly, so it'll be a tough category for them, going against small groups that do play together more often. But, they deserve to be at State.
So there they are. 14 total kids going to State. They are all winners to me already.
In other news, I'm going through kind of a playing slump right now. My high range just isn't working right. I haven't changed anything or am trying anything different...it's just unresponsive. I know this will go away in time, but it's just kind of annoying because it's already been a week and a half. The important thing is to not push it.
Ugh...I'm believing more and more lately that maybe I wasn't designed to be a full-time performer anyways...glad I'm realize that now, haha...eases the pain.
Take care and value music.