Damon took the opportunity to travel to the OMEA contest last Saturday where he played a solo and in a quartet. The scoring system rates from 1-5, 1 being the highest and 5 being the worst. We discussed that there should be a 6, for if you throw up, pass out, pee your pants or all three from sheer nerves. There were a lot of kids putting on brave faces, but watching the stress roll off them afterwards was a lot of fun.
I told that kid to plan for a 5 and then whatever he earned would be better than that. He wailed, "nobody has ever earned a 5 in our school!" Perhaps I should just never open my mouth. His usual sax, Otto, was in the shop so he had a loaner which he christened Botto. The OMEAs were held at Northwood high school, and a huge shout out to them for hosting. Their cafeteria ladies were very kind and cheerful and their school was clean and welcoming.
Not only did he earn a 1 in his solo, the quartet also earned a 1! The kids were so excited. They were fun to watch rehearsing in the gym with a myriad of instruments around them also practicing, running in and out, buying snacks, sitting in on other friends' solos for moral support. He decided he wanted to ride the bus home with his friends, which was fine; I'd taken him since he didn't have to play until after lunch and the bus left the school at 6:45. He ended up sleeping until 9 AM anyway, so it was the right choice.
Overall, now he has a much better idea of the practice and prep that goes into an event like that and I think next year will be even better!
This crew makes up his quartet, though this was taken at a different event. They had the opportunity to join the high school and college saxophone students for a small concert last weekend. Dada and I had a ball! We were so impressed with the conductor and the group. What a neat experience for the young musicians. I hope they perform again. There was even a college student who played bass saxophone, which neither of us had ever seen before. Such a great date!
No comments:
Post a Comment