North Shore Honor Band Festival

Congratulations to all of the DHS band students who participated in the North Shore Honor Band Festival this weekend. I am proud of the hard work you put in preparing the music, practicing with the ensembles, and putting on a fine concert. I know both conductors were pleased with the results, and the audience had a great time. It was good to see a number of other band students there working on their second quarter concert papers.

It really struck me to hear just how many wonderfully talented musicians we have in our area, and I thought about what it takes to get to that level. Of course, talent level is something with which you are born, but hard work and passion are just as important, if not even more so. For example, let's say you have two musicians. The first just happens to have music in her genes, as she comes from a musical family. The second has talent as well, but maybe it doesn't come as naturally for her. Anyway, the first player has always been at the top of her section, never has to practice much for playing tests and still gets A's. She doesn't really have any competition, so she never moves beyond her comfort range on her instrument.

On the other hand, the second musician is motivated from within. She has sought out the best private teacher she can find, and she is diligent about taking her weekly lessons. She prioritizes her practicing, and although she is busy with other pursuits, she gets in a solid 30 minutes four times a week. She works on fundamentals and uses a tuner and a metronome. One year she decides to go to a music camp for a week in the summer. There she is challenged by more difficult band music and a master class with a university professor. This gets her even more excited, so she decides to join a youth orchestra outside of school. She works hard on her IMEA audition and makes the band. Suddenly, she finds herself a leader in school and enjoying her music on an even higher level.

At the NSHB this weekend, there were students of both types, but for the most part, those at the top of the sections are like the second musician above. They have a passion for music and want to go beyond the ordinary in their musical experience. If you think you'd like to be in that second category, let's chat. I can give you some guidance along that path.

If you'd like to see what some DHS band alumni have done with talent, passion, and drive, click on the links below:

Charles Lane (jazz tenor saxophonist)
Greg Spero (jazz/funk/rock keyboardist)
Geoff Shell (composer, electric bassist)--Geoff is our artist-in-residence at DHS, and he will be starting up this week.