Along with many other fall activities, band has kicked into full swing for the semester. Honor band, specifically, is coming up and students are busy preparing.
“The past couple years we’ve had around 30 students submit auditions,” Ryan Partin, head band director, said.
Although not all band members are required to audition for honor band, a great number of kids choose to do so regardless. It is a great opportunity for students to challenge themselves, and explore ways to make themselves an even better musician.
“This is going to be my third year trying out,” Kaylin Nonhoff, Health senior, said.
Since honor band is such a great opportunity, many students, like Nonhoff, choose to do it year after year. They really enjoy the process.
“Students, first of all, have to fill out a form saying that they’re interested,” Partin said.
If a student decides that they want to participate in honor band, the process begins by submitting the required application to Partin, and Theisen. Partin and Theisen will later print off material and provide it to all students. The students are then expected to work on the audition individually.
“It’s pretty easy, the excerpts are not hard,” Nonhoff said.
Although it may seem intimidating for students to work on the audition by themselves, Nonhoff noted that the material is not difficult and very achievable with practice. The students are also provided help from the teachers.
Once students have learned the material, Partin records all the auditions and uploads them online to the judges. Nonhoff expressed a perk to this uploading process.
“You can take as many takes as you need to, to get it right,” Nonhoff said.
“My favorite part is to be able to see my name,” Aiden Valdivia-Hernandez, Arts & Comm. senior, said.
After submission, the judges score everyone based on a point value system and select the top members to build their ensemble. Valdivia-Hernandez noted that the most rewarding part of the process is seeing his name on the ensemble list.
“I love the thrill of everyone going and you get to meet all these people from different states,” Valdivia-Hernandez said.
Not only is getting the results back enjoyable, but the actual event is very enjoyable too. Students from all over the country come together to play music in one ensemble. It is a unique and memorable experience.
“My favorite part about honor band is seeing the growth in the students and how much better they become as musicians just by working on the auditions,” Partin said.
Above all else, Partin states that there is truly so much growth for students in auditioning for honor bands. Even if they aren’t accepted into it, the growth they find as musicians is unmatched. He stated that there is great value in students challenging themselves.
