Following months of preparation and practice, Sandie orchestra students tried out for the All-Region orchestras on Oct. 17 and 21.
There are two different All-Region competitions: All-Region One and All-Region Two. The students acquired the music in August and had about two months to prepare and practice for the auditions.
“I got this music back in August and you know you kind of just take off running,” junior Hannah Berry said. “You get the music, you learn the notes, learn the rhythms and then you start to add in the more musical side of it, so you speed it up, get to the right tempo, add in dynamics and contrast so it’s a lot of work but it’s just slow and steady practice.”
The All-Region tryout process started even before the audition. The students work on the music in class from the beginning of the school year until audition day. Clinicians come into class to help perfect the music for later unbiased auditions.
“I like the fact that the judges don’t know who you are when you audition,” junior Luke Worsham said.
After the student gets a randomly selected number and warm-up time, the student walks into a room, stands behind a curtain and waits. A judge will greet the students and inform them that they can start when they are ready. The student then plays the selected pieces and leaves to wait for results posted later that day.
“I definitely like receiving the music, that’s one of the main things, you make it and you’re like ‘I get to see and play the music’,” senior Addie McMillen said.
One thing about making it into All-Region is students have the chance to play music they do not usually get to play with new people. The students will attend a clinic and play in a concert together with teens from other local high schools. Some students will even have a chance to advance to try for state tryouts.
“Hopefully I make it to state,” sophomore Quan Nguyen said. “My goal for State is really just to improve on my chair from last year.”