Tonight was the Solo/Ensemble night at the junior high. Will was in a rather large group. 3 baritones, 2 tubas, one trombone, four french horns and four trumpets. His group was the third to perform.
Solo/Ensemble night is really not performed to the parents, though they are allowed to watch. The night is really an adjudication. One judge sat and evaluated their group and ranked them. If they score high enough, they will be invited to Regional.
While Will was off somewhere warming up and tuning up with his group, Bill and I listened to the first couple of ensembles perform for the judge. The first group was TERRIBLE!!! Holy cow, they were bad! Off pitch, off the beat, and a collection of mismatched individuals rather than a cohesive group. I began to worry that maybe I shouldn't record Will's group; what if they sounded that bad?! The second group started out really strong, but got off track somewhere in the middle and limped painfully to the end of their piece. Then it was time for Will's group.
They sounded great! No, I am not just a biased mommy. They kept the meter, they kept the tone, they kept the pitch! The showcase trumpet had a bit of the nerves and faded out on some of his notes, but they were all the correct notes! Hurray for Will's group!
After that, Bill and I waited outside of the band room while Will filled out an evaluation form on three other groups. I was glad that Will's group was scheduled so early in the evening. The Ensembles were scheduled all the way until 8 p.m. Also, the school was about to be over run by a town-hall style meeting hosted by Senator Orrin Hatch.
Oh. I should also mention that after Will put his baritone away and as he was moving back into the band room to fill out observation evaluations, I heard a girl suddenly call out "Will!" She then ran up to him and gave him a hug as a greeting before heading off in another direction. A GIRL! ACK! :)
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