Music Contest

We're looking at another weekend – and a Super one at that! And that will be the end of my Super Bowl references for today. We are looking forward to the game.

It's been snowing lightly most of the day. There hasn't been much build-up, but the little flakes have been floating around since it got light this morning. School got out early today. I saw the fifth grader across the street come out in her capri pants and short-sleeved shirt to tie up one of their dogs. It made me chilly just to see her!

By this time of the school year when I was in high school, we would have begun gearing up for spring music contests. Students would be poring over sheet music, deciding what instrumental or vocal solo piece they would start practicing. These solos would have accompaniment, so the two or three pianists we inevitably had in high school would be divided up so none of them would be overwhelmed with learning new music and scheduling rehearsal times.

The music teacher would be weighing in on each decision on the music selection. They would also facilitate the group events – clarinet trios or quartets, trumpet trios, small vocal groups, and the glee club music. There was a lot of planning, implementation, and rehearsal that was done.

Because our band class time was spent rehearsing the full band selections for competition, and the music class time was spent rehearsing the glee club selections, all the other rehearsals had to be done either before or after school. And that's where it got crazy. Since we only had the one music room for rehearsal, everyone needed to communicate so we weren't overlapping with rehearsal time. If a vocal group needed to rehearse before school, you had to be careful that the dairy farm kids weren't in that group........they usually got to school just before the opening bell, after they'd done morning milking.

You had to keep in mind who had access to a vehicle and who was stuck riding the bus. Well, except for me. I started accompanying for music contests my sophomore year of high school. I didn't drive, we lived ten miles from school, and it was imperative that I be there. Dad was working in Carrollton by then, so he would drop me off at school on his way to work. If I needed to stay after school, I was there until he came by on his way home from work. It was one of the few times I regretted being so far out in the country. There wasn't anyone who had a license who lived close enough that I could catch a ride home.

My junior year was especially hectic. We had moved into town by then, so it was really handy for me to be at school whenever needed. What made this year unusual was that we didn't have a music teacher for the majority of the year. The superintendent would sit in on band class for discipline while my cousin, a senior, rehearsed the band. I don't really remember what we did for a Christmas program that year, but contest time is still vivid. The district found a young gal who was graduating with a music degree at the end of second trimester of that college year and hired her. So for part of January, February, and until she was there full time, we had music on Saturday. We rehearsed as best we could before and after school.......then we trekked back on Saturday.

We spent long Saturday hours rehearsing with the new teacher for music contests. And we had a decent showing at our music contests that year. We ended up at State Music Contest with a vocal solo (my cousin, of course – he went every year of high school) and a mixed quartet. We had a fun time that day because the new music teacher drove us to Columbia. We all enjoyed being with her, she was young and cool and funny.

I hated when she went to another school the next year, but we were really lucky to have her for that part of my junior year. It was my favorite year of high school.