As you see me currently, I am a music education major that specializes in percussion at San Jose State university. There were events that happened in my life for me to choose to study music for my future. I would not say that the first thing that made me interested in music was my parents playing their playlist around the house when I was little or when they paid an instructors to teach me piano or drum set.
The actually spark for music for me was in sixth grade elementary school, as I attending a middle school concert in a gym for my sister, Lucy, as she performed with the guitar class. This concert had three groups; concert band, guitar, and symphonic band. Honestly, guitar wasn’t exciting at all, I was bored on the bleachers with my back
…show more content…
As another “know it all” girl had ruined my plans to make our band better. I wanted to invest my time to make out band better, but she got voted to be the leader for just popularity reasons. All I would do and help she would push back, because she ever wanted to hear my criticism on what she is doing wrong in. All she thought was she was important and knows everything, and she really cares and wants to benefit the band. I could see through that lie and saw she only was their for her friends and that is it. I was just plain pissed off and when I sent a private message being real with her and just calling her out being fake, she just told off to the new band teacher that year. So I just gave up and waited for Team Percussion’s new audition …show more content…
But a few days after, the website had announced a new team near the bay area and I had to partake in it. The new team was called, “Tri-City Percussion” and the staff was actually the same as Team percussion but a little different only. So there were people that I knew when I came on to the first auditions. I needed to show them I had changed in a year, I auditioned for tenor drums again and didn’t make it. Lucky Chris Cyr the Director of Tri-City Percussion had been friends with my old band teacher Ms. Mandler. She had told him my story of never having a teacher and I’m making this progress on my own coming from this bad music program school. He personally told me that I am a example of what passion really is in music and he wanted me to still be part of the team. Those words really meant a lot to me because this was coming from a real expert, and so I became the rack or auxiliary player in the front
One of the biggest decisions of my high school career came my sophomore year when I decided to try out for the role of drum major in my high school band. This decision was very tough to make due to the fact that I was a sophomore, and although I already had three years of experience under my belt as a band member at Northview High School, I knew that it would be very tough to earn the respect of my peers if I succeeded in becoming drum major. Out of the three years I had spent in the band, the biggest influence on my decision to try out came from my very first marching season, between August and December of 2012. From that year forward, after seeing many areas that the band could improve, watching how underclassmen and middle school band members
We went and shopped around Portland to pass time for the next day to come faster. I played at 3:00 PM. I woke up that next morning and got dressed into my performing clothes. That consisted of black slacks, black button up shirt, and a black tie. I arrived at Lewis and Clark College and found where I was going to be performing. I was performing in Miller Hall Rm. 201. I arrived about three hours early too see where I was suppose to be and get used to the feeling of the building. When it was time to get ready and performed I walked into the auditorium and handed the judges my three original copies. I walked up on stage and waited for the announcer to say my contestant number and say when to go. At state you only have ten minutes to perform your solo, otherwise they cut you off and let you go. I started performing and I got this weird feeling I wasn't nervous or anything. I was just content and ready to own the performance. After I finished performing I walked off stage and collected the copies and walked out of the room. At this point I was nervous and wanting to know how I placed. My family and I met up with some friends that were performing at state also and we walked around and waited some more until five 'O clock for
I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. Someone told me about this activity that happens in the summer for musicians when I was a freshman. “The worst thing that can happen is they say no, and you learn from the experience” my mother told me. Anything I could do to further appreciate music I wanted to give a try. The best part it was
The band room at Reynolds Middle School was filled to the brim with over excited, prepubescent children who were about to be given thousands of dollars worth of metal and wood because on that day we would be receiving our instruments. Sitting anxiously with my hands in my lap waiting for forever as Mr. Love went down the list alphabetically to give each student his or her new toy. When Mr. Love finally called my name to get my clarinet I shared excited glances with all of my friends who had gotten their new instruments before me and giddily running to the storage room to get the black case that would contain the thin tube of plastic that would be used by me to drive my parents up the wall to this day. While learning how to put the five pieces
After a long two years of learning more about the teacher and the style he teaches in, I became used to how things flow in the class. I ended up trying out for the advanced band, Wind Ensemble, and made it into the class my sophomore year. I felt like I had achieved a lot and near the end of my sophomore year, tryouts for Jazz Band started. I was very nervous and I didn't want to try out at first because I did not think I was good enough to be with a group of the best musicians in the school. My band Director finally got me to try out and when I got into his office I felt extremely nervous but I still tried my hardest to perform everything as best as I could. After the tryout I
My recent setback occurred when I applied to become the section leader for the trumpet section and unfortunately did not get the position. My freshman year in Ramstein High School, Germany, I earned and held the position as trumpet section leader for the intermediate band. Upon entering my sophomore year, my band director chose me out of ten trumpet players to play in the advanced band due to my performance as the trumpet section leader. The second semester of my sophomore year, my military family moved from Germany back to the United States where I enrolled in the Carl Albert High School Band starting from the beginning as a regular section member. Upon inquiring on how to apply for section leader at the end of my sophomore year beginning
"Dedicate yourself to being someone who cares for others" (George N. Parks). I began my love for music when I started concert band in the fifth grade. But, I didn't realize I wanted to pursue a career in music until I reached high school. Arriving at high school, I decided to branch out and join the marching band, choir, and musical theater program. Through marching band and choir, I found my goal is to become a music therapist.
string class. When I got there I wanted to play the Harp but, they didn’t have the instrument so instead the teacher
Music has always been an important part of my life. During high school I have developed areas of service and leadership through interests in children and gardening, which will continue to be major parts of my life.
The day of the audition came and I was freaking out. The audition was two required pieces that are technique based, scales, pieces and parts of a symphonic song, and sight reading. I felt decently prepared to play for the head band director. I walked into the
The summer of 2015 I spent at the S.T.E.P (Science and Technology entry Program) at the University of Rochester. This program is designed to aid minority students into medical fields: this program introduces youth to medical positions, the college application process, and hands on learning (IV placement, blood pressure, etc.). The final project involved interviewing a current doctor, about their journey to a medical occupation. I was selected to present my project in front of family, and guests, and received a scholarship for the Mini Medical School program. At the end of the summer I went to Bristol Hills Music Camp, which I have attended since the 9th grade. I have played violin since fourth grade, and that summer was selected to play in
For my second concert, I attended a percussion ensemble. There was really no proper title to the concert. It was directed by Daniel Smithiger. The percussionists were SIUE students and a guest conductor/ performer, Professor Megan Arns, from the University of Missouri. Professor Arns has performed in many countries. She is a percussionist and educator. She also has experience with marching band. There was a total of eight songs performed during the concert I attended.
I had read through the entire list twice and had not seen my name. Instantly I became devastated. I was almost positive that I would have been selected. I started to question all that I had done, wondering what I possibly could have done wrong. Had I not worded my essay right? Had I not written enough? Had my band director not noticed all the hard work I had done throughout the year? My head was swimming with so many different emotions I was sure it was going to explode. I felt angry, disappointed, depressed, and confused. I was sure my band director had missed something, or made a mistake. However, I soon began to feel a bit of understanding, and more than that I felt a new determination rise up in me. It began to consume me, filling me with this new found resolve. From that moment on I understood what my next step was going to be. I knew that I was going to do everything in my power to learn more about what being a leader truly means, and how I could become
During my sophomore year, I decided to try out for drum major. I wanted to hear my
Henning had stopped the rehearsal one day, and gathered the choir for an announcement. I didn’t realize it at the time, but Mr. Henning was setting me up for a musical solo for the concert, and little did I know that he was frustrated at the lack of bass support. He had spent countless rehearsals with me trying to get me “concert” ready. I took it as training to help my singing voice, he took it a step further to get me ready for a solo at the concert. Once I realized his announcement in that it was intended for me, I felt as if I was put on the spot.