Auditions

Monday was our spring concert. Kids played great. I was particularly happy with our younger bands who made some very good progress in the last three or four weeks.

On Tuesday, the Social Committee form our Midwest Parent Group threw a party to celebrate our invitation to perform at Midest. We wanted to make sure to do something this year so that our 8th graders could be involved. I hope they truly understand how much we appreciate everything they have given our bands. The kids had fun hanging in out, eating lots of food and playing various sports.

The last three days have also involved auditions for next year’s Symphonic Band. Back in April I noticed a definite increase in the sense of urgency when we received the invitation to perform at Midwest. Most of the kids worked really hard preparing a difficult packet. Auditions for the Symphonic Band include the Chromatic Scale (2 octaves, 3 octaves for clarinet), 6 major scales and their relative harmonic minor scales, and two selected etudes from the Second Book of Practical Studies (Alfred/Belwin).

Next year’s Symphonic Band is at 60 members, although there are still a couple kids I need to listen to:

9 Flutes

3 Oboes
9 Clarinets
2 Bass Clarinets
1 Bassoon
5 Alto Saxophones
2 Tenor Saxophones
2 Baritone Saxophones
6 Cornets
4 French Horns

6 Trombones
2 Euphoniums
3 Tubas
6 Percussion

Broken down by grade:
13 Sixth Graders
23 Seventh Graders
24 Eighth Graders

My next post will discuss different issues such as instrumentation, chair placement, and the different strengths and weaknesses that I anticipate (and how I plan to address those weaknesses).

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