FHN band students saw great success at District Solo and Ensemble on Saturday, March 7. Four soloists and three ensembles received exemplary ratings and will be advancing to State Solo and Ensemble on May 1, in Columbia. Each soloist and group received feedback from judges on their performance, giving specific aspects of their compositions to improve on in preparation for state competition.
“They gave us some critiques, mostly dynamics, not playing too loud or too quiet in certain spots, and making sure it’s clean and sounds good together,” junior Chase Monroe said.
Some of this year’s state qualifiers are veterans at this competition, having competed as far back as middle school.
“I’ve done it all four years of high school and eighth grade,” senior Sierra Getz said. “All five years I’ve done a solo, but last year I also participated in you’ve put in. It’s always guaranteed that you get the result that you put the work in for.”
Each soloist or ensemble will be allowed five minutes for their performance that is scheduled anytime from morning to evening. Though the times are assigned largely at random, the time of day can affect performance.
“I was later in the day [at regionals], so I guess I was more fatigued, but I still performed well,” sophomore Evin Gamage said. “I need to practice note accuracy and the parts I missed more.”
Overall, students are excited to perform at this year’s state competition, hoping to receive recognition for their advanced musicianship.
“I’m very excited,” junior drum major Rylan Trotter said. “I’ve just been working on the small things that I was told to improve on. I think I’ll do fine.”
