What a blast!
I had a very fun time this weekend. I knew it would be. Helping my students prepare for this prestigious event and watching them perform was extremely fulfilling. Being at CWU again and seeing a lot of old friends who are teachers was also amazing. It felt like I was in school again, to be honest.
My students all played well, but unfortunately none of them brought home a medal. My Penn Cove Brass played their best, but it just wasn't enough, according to the judges, to get all "Superior" scores. I was baffled in the moment as to why they didn't get all "Superiors", but after going back and listening to the recording of them, I noticed small little things that could have gone better. I dunno, though, I still think they deserved all "Superiors"...
The quartet from the Penn Cove Brass also played well, but a few extra things went wrong with their performance, including a couple clouting errors, and some rhythmic precision.
My soloists...well, let's just say it was a rollercoaster day for me, in the end. Some of them played better than they hoped, and some didn't. Some got better scores than they thought they would, some didn't. Some came out of their performance smiling, some came out crying, or cried after getting their scores. I felt really bad for those who didn't do as well overall, but I stayed positive for them the best I could...because what good would it have done if I was critical at that moment?
I had just one performed get all "Superior" scores, and it was my all-state trombonist, Lola. She is my best student right now, and really represented herself well and all the practice she has done in her career already. Haha, she was really shocked when I showed her the comment sheets with her scores.
I came aware either realizing or a learning a lot of stuff. The big realization I have is that this competition is hard, and no matter how hard we've worked and how good a student or group is sounding, you really can't expect anything here. The competition is too high, and the judges grade very strictly and meticulously. I really need to encourage a solid overall practice regimen for all of my students, which includes good fundamentals, and not be afraid to work that stuff with them. Sometimes I stay away from certain meticulous aspects of their playing because I worry that they won't enjoy it. But I think they will enjoy the result better in the end, so I should stick to it. I need to make a better lesson plan for them all each week, so that I can give them all that I've got. What it comes down to is that I need to start getting them ready for next year right now!
So that's what we'll do. Actually, the All-Northwest audition music was recently announced, so we're gonna get on that, too. But we've got a whole year to get these guys ready for Solo & Ensemble, so I am very excited.
I'm also excited to get my own practice routine going again. April has been the worst month of playing for me in years. May will be much different than that, and I'll get some new recordings done soon. Haha, I've got a really fun and challenging one planned...let's just hope I do it.
Take care and value music.