March, 2019
As I was getting ready for assessment, I could not help but feel my heart racing a hundred miles per minute. This was my final orchestra competition I would ever participate in and I knew coming in, this was no easy game. Our director had recently injured herself which caused the entire orchestra to rely on one-handed conducting. Imagine cueing each group of 60+people with just one hand. Well, more like over a hundred people if you combined each of our groups. We were separated by grade level and level of music. In my case, we were playing a mixture of grades four and five music. In other words, our music selection was quite difficult to say the least. Regardless of the complexity, I still loved playing in front of large crowds. Performing has been something on my mind since the second I could walk. From dance to orchestra, the stage was my escape from reality. Being in the present moment with just your instrument makes you feel like it's just you and them in the world.
"Taylor, are you tuned yet? We have a few minutes before the judging." Amy said.
Amy is my stand partner. She is someone that became a friend of mine when we started orchestra together during our freshman year. Of course, our orchestra consists of multiple classes so it is common for stand partners to change often.
"Yeah, I just need to adjust my A string quickly then we can go." I replied.
If you know anything about music, you know that having a freshly tuned instrument is key to success in the performing arts world. Let me tell you, I've had a few incidents when my strings were badly out of tune. Long story, but that will be for next time.
"Hey Taylor, we have to go now. It's our turn on stage." Amy called from band room door.
"Alright! Coming!" I called back.
My hands were clammy from the sweat, but I still managed to quickly grab my sheet music, bow, and violin before walking into what would be my very last high school orchestra competition.
On Stage
"Alright, places everyone. Make sure you have everything you need because we are about to perform our first selection which is, Drifen.*" Mrs. Hughes said.
Oh boy, I thought. Let me tell you about this piece for a second. Drifen starts out with a repeated eighth note phrase in the violins and a heavily accented quarter note phrase in the lower. strings. Further into the piece, there is the main melody which are performed by the violins and a counter melody in the lower strings. Sounds complicated, right? But wait, it gets better. That same eighth note and quarter note phrase from the beginning comes back into play. Quite repetitive I will say. Finally, the selection moves into a more smooth and connecting phrase with the lower strings starting the new melody followed by the violins. If you listen to the selection, you will hear that the violins are the one group that shift the most out of every string instrument. In fact, the first violin section shifts up to 6th and 7th position in measures 132-136. Okay, enough chit-chat about this selection. Back to the competition.
*Drifen by Shirl Jae Atwell: https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/media-player.jsp?&productID=2389427&type=audio
Later that night
"We will get our scores in a couple of days." Mrs. Hughes said to our group.
"How do you think we did, Taylor?" Amy asked while sitting next to me on the bus.
It was pitch black outside and the only time we could see each other was through our flashlights on our phones while riding the bus home. It was around 10pm by the time we got back to our high school.
"Honestly, I have no idea. After our director's injury and our performance, we will just have to see." I replied back with my shoulders shrugged.
We were all exhausted that this point. Competition takes a lot of energy out of you, especially when performing on stage. I know because I've done this for 4 straight years and let me tell you, it's not easy. I got home around 10:30 that night. I took my makeup off, changed into comfy clothing, and crawled into bed before realizing I had another major task to complete before graduation: Scholarships.
YOU ARE READING
The Girl with a Teacher's Heart
RomanceTaylor Mitchell is your average student attending community college. While studying there, she has high hopes of becoming a teacher one day. For two years, she encounters hope, love, and perseverance in which she will make a difference in the lives...
