Could This Really Happen?
Well the little stinker earned a call back audition at HSPVA!
I thought she played the music exceptionally well at home, but we didn't get to sit in for the audition. All we know is that the auditions are tough and the odds of getting in are especially slim for Cici, since she is trying to gain admission as a junior. So now we will do it all over again and then wait a while. Final decisions are not mailed out until March 26.
To give you an idea of the level of competition, the audition form elicits information regarding each participant's music background, asking for specifics regarding lessons received and for how long, years played, competitions and awards, other instruments paid, and so forth. Sort of like a brief curriculum vitae for a musician. We did the best we could.
Angela took lessons only in elementary school when she first learned to play the flute. She divided her time and attention between the flute and the gu zheng during those early years, and didn't play the flute at all during her 7th and 8th grade years. She picked up the flute again in her freshman year of high school, and I know for a fact that she has practiced for a total of only a few hours at home since she resumed playing the flute.
Therefore, whatever talent Angela showed in the audition is pretty much raw talent, because all she has done is practice with the marching band during the fall and with the concert band during the spring semesters. She practiced her music for the audition on her own without even the band director as a coach or advisor; he doesn't want to lose her. Now the requirement for a second audition is to show substantial improvement playing the same piece of music that was played at the first audition, plus show the ability to read and play a piece of music that is presented at the audition.
and time marches on ...
I thought she played the music exceptionally well at home, but we didn't get to sit in for the audition. All we know is that the auditions are tough and the odds of getting in are especially slim for Cici, since she is trying to gain admission as a junior. So now we will do it all over again and then wait a while. Final decisions are not mailed out until March 26.
To give you an idea of the level of competition, the audition form elicits information regarding each participant's music background, asking for specifics regarding lessons received and for how long, years played, competitions and awards, other instruments paid, and so forth. Sort of like a brief curriculum vitae for a musician. We did the best we could.
Angela took lessons only in elementary school when she first learned to play the flute. She divided her time and attention between the flute and the gu zheng during those early years, and didn't play the flute at all during her 7th and 8th grade years. She picked up the flute again in her freshman year of high school, and I know for a fact that she has practiced for a total of only a few hours at home since she resumed playing the flute.
Therefore, whatever talent Angela showed in the audition is pretty much raw talent, because all she has done is practice with the marching band during the fall and with the concert band during the spring semesters. She practiced her music for the audition on her own without even the band director as a coach or advisor; he doesn't want to lose her. Now the requirement for a second audition is to show substantial improvement playing the same piece of music that was played at the first audition, plus show the ability to read and play a piece of music that is presented at the audition.
and time marches on ...
"Substantial improvement?" What if you knock it dead the first time? How do you improve upon that?
Best of luck for Angela!
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Good question, Smitty. I guess you simply outperform the competition. I think Angela can do that, but anyone can have an off day. Ping is hoping that her Chinese heritage might give her an edge. The school has a flag hanging on the walls of the lunch/all purpose room for each country from which its students come. The Chinese flag is there, but Ping's bet is that there are few students from China. She may be correct, as we have been at the school on three occasions and have yet to see a Chinese student.
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Perhaps so.
I still think she should be allowed to rock the guzheng! She would smoke the competition with that!
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Yes, Cici's hands literally dance when she is playing the gu zheng. Maybe she can play a demo for them sometime, or if she attends the school, maybe she can play it in a scene in one of the plays.
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