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by Brooke Syme
Staff Reporter
This year NS had 20 students participate in the regional Solo and Ensemble competition, with the majority qualifying for the state competition in April.
“I think this is probably one of the best years that we’ve had in terms of qualifying for state,” said music teacher Tim Kidder.
Out of the 20 students who went to Solo and Ensemble, 18 qualified for state, including the percussion ensemble and nine other individuals. Tanner Kerksiek and Bradley Power qualified for a cello duet. Kaceeus Hathaway and Libby Booher both are going for trumpet solos. Atley Kidder for a french horn solo, Simeon Kimball for a trombone solo, Josclynn Allen for a euphonium solo, Mia Swapp for a vocal solo, and Sarah James for a clarinet solo.
“I’ve been working on this song since before December,” senior Atley Kidder said.
Most students have been working hard on their songs for the past few months.
Performing will take a lot of practice and hard work, which comes with any competition. After the performance, the students got rated on how well they did by the judges. It was a scale from one to five, one being superior and five being poor.
“If you can play solo where you are responsible for all the rhythms and notes,” Tim Kidder said, “then it makes you a much better musician.”
Playing solo or even with a smaller group can be more challenging and takes more effort than just playing on your own. If you mess up just the tiniest bit, everyone can hear you, whereas when you are playing in a big group, and you mess up, it will most likely get covered up by all the other people around you playing. Again, this shows why it is incredible that most of the students NS sent will be moving on to state.
“It’s an opportunity to learn a solo and challenge yourself as a musician,” Allen said, “instead of just sticking to the class songs.”
Allen also explained that during the performance, she was a little nervous but still enjoyed it and had lots of fun. Being up there playing for judges is intimidating, but it is entirely worth it. Even if you don’t go to state or get the best score, all the work you put in will pay off for you individually.
“You have to get with an accompanist,” Atley Kidder said, “then learn the song with the accompanist, and that’s kind of hard.”
Another part of Solo and Ensemble is that most students have to play their pieces with an accompanist, which can be tricky and cause some challenges, like last-minute changes or not having prepared enough.
Overall, Tim Kidder explained that it was an excellent experience for the students that competed. Taking time out of a busy teenage schedule is always challenging because this isn’t something that takes up class time; it is just an individual thing that most students take very seriously.
