It was not supposed to be my weekend with the kids, but there was just too much I did not want to miss.
Kevin is playing trumpet in the 6th grade. He decided to compete in the local Solo and Ensemble contests. This is a city wide competition where kids volutarily choose to do a solo or duet, trio, etc and be judged by teachers and music program administrators from all over. It was being held at my old middle school (it was called Jr. High when I was there). It brought back some great memories.
Saturday morning was the competition. Based on there performance they are given a rating of 1 (highest) to 5 (lowest). They had been preparing for a month or 2. Kevin is in a trumpet trio with 2 other boys from his middle school. They were the 3rd group on the list of brass ensembles. We all gathered outside the door of one of the class rooms they delegated for brass and percussion. The kids were excited. One of the kids grandfather was telling them to cough up some money so he could bribe the judge.
It was finally their turn. We all filed in. The boys set up while their teacher talked to the judge. They were ready to go. The teacher checked their tuning. The kids could not have any help once the teacher had them set. I can't rememeber his name, but one of the boys announced the school they were from and they each said their names. The boys had to start themselves off without the teacher counting off for them. They started perfectly. They had great harmonies. A couple missed notes, but nothing too bad. At this level it isn't about playing each note perfectly. There piece is fairly short. They also ended right together. All three boys did a great job. The judge had some comments about them holding notes at certain spots a little longer. He had them play it again. They did as well the second time except they got a little out of sync at the end. The judge thanked them and we cleared the room. I was not expecting them to get higher than a 2 on their performance, but then again I am not a judge.
We would have about a 15 minute wait for their final rating to get posted. I found where theywoud be posting the scores. No scores were reported yet. We sat nearby in the cafeteria for a bit, then I took the kids down to the band room that I knew so well. It seemed smaller than I remembered it. The big letters on the south wall read Irving Bands are #1. This was painted up there the summer after I left for high school. I came by the school when they were painting it and help (very little). Amy, Karen, Todd, and Michelle's names were all still there signifying that they painted the sign in 1980. It's amazing that 25 years later it would not have been covered up. That really made me feel good.
We made our way back to the cafeteria. Kevin went to check on the score. Only the first brass ensemble score was posted. Kevin was nervous. I remember how that feels. The butterflies were definitely getting to him. He went outside complaining that it was hot in there. I took Erik to the restroom which happened to be right by the board where they were posting the scores. On our way back I took a quick look. Smiled and kept walking. I made it down to the cafeteria where Irene (my ex) was still waiting. I gave her a nod and asked where Kevin was now. She pointed me to him. I waved him over and told him I saw them putting up some new scores up. He ran up there squeezing his way through the bigger kids and parents. He came out with a smile from ear to ear. The other boys were near by. Kevin called out, "We got a 1". All 3 of them were hig 5-ing each other. I went over and congratulated all of them and talked to their families for a few seconds.
The detailed critique of their performance would be written up and sent to the school. We were all done and got ready to leave. I looked around again at the school a little bit before heading to the door. I gave the kids hugs as my car was parked a different direction than their mom's. I told Kevin I would see him first thing in the morning.
The weekend wasn't over...
No comments:
Post a Comment