With nerves high and her fingers running up and down the clarinet, freshman Margaret Walker stands in front of the crowd of people in Fort Wayne’s Grand Wayne Convention Center. As Walker plays in the band the rush of adrenaline turns to excitement as she plays exact notes and finishes the concert with near perfection.
Walker earned the achievement First Chair in the Junior All-State Honor Band for clarinet. Walker had to submit lyrical and technical etudes to be considered. She prepared for the challenging audition through hours of dedicated practice.
“The audition was an online submission that consisted of a lyrical and a technical etude,” Walker said. “We performed a couple of different pieces including “Abracadabra” by Frank Ticheli, “Gypsy Dance” by Joseph Compello, “Mad Dash” by Tim Loest, “Raven” by Robert Buckley, “Skyward” by Katajh Copley, and my favorite, “Stillwater” by Kelijah Dunton.”
The selection to the honor band was a three-day commitment, and consisted of sectionals on a Thursday night, followed up by rehearsals all day on Friday and the concert that the ensemble finally performed on Saturday after all the practice.
”Performing with an ensemble such as this one is very enjoyable, as the rehearsal pace is a lot faster and more efficient,” Walker said. “I prepared the etudes with my private teacher and worked on tone quite a bit.”
Being named first chair was a major accomplishment. Spending time with other talented musicians was a highlight for her from the experience as well. With how much time she’s dedicated to playing music, Walker plans to keep moving forward with her work.
”Playing as first chair means a lot to me. It shows that hard work does pay off, and why I should keep going,” Walker said. “A special memory from this experience was the time they gave us to socialize with kids from other schools.”
Along with the show, the audition came with some struggles as well, but Walker found ways to get through them.
“The hardest part of the Junior All-State Honor Band was managing time to practice and submit the etudes. To manage this, I set aside time before the due date to work on it,” Walker said. “Managing academics with music isn’t easy, but using a planner and taking time for yourself helps.”
