My son’s a percussionist in the Northwood High Wind Ensemble this year. It’s an advanced ensemble . . . he’s a sophomore and most of the kids in there are juniors and seniors.
They had auditions last week for section leader. I asked him leading up to the auditions if he’d been practicing his audition pieces because I never heard him practicing anything.
“I practice at school,” he said, “but my chances aren’t very good. There are some older kids who are better than me.”
This kid drives me nuts sometimes with his low-key approach to things.
My approach to an audition would have been very different. I would have practiced like a madman and showed up ready to kick some ass, because I’ve got zero self-confidence and I over-compensate in certain types of situations.
Anyway, the results are now in and the boy made section leader after all.
I guess you’ve got to let kids develop their own style . . .