Amazement

Let me start off by saying that I'm SOOO proud of my daughter, Grace. She simply amazes me. Maybe it's because she's growing up, or maybe it's because she's doing what I most feared to do as a kid, without blinking an eye.

Yesterday was the audition for the Florida All-State Chorus. Middle School and High School students from Hillsborough County gathered at Chamberlain High School in Tampa to take a written test, and if passed, a sight-reading audition in hopes to gain a seat in the Chorus.

Grace and 10 of her school-mates were "invited" to attend and had practiced twice a week after school for two months. They learned Music Theory and sight-reading.

We were told to be at the High School at 3:30 and that registration and testing would start at 4:00. HAH! They lied! Testing started at 5:15!!! And they KNEW it wouldn't start until then!
Oh, the memories of waiting! Of standing in line, waiting!

The first part of the written test was listening and multiple choice. Which of the four choices looks most like the passage played, etc. Another few questions were on intervals. The second part was without audio. The kids who passed the test were able to wait for another couple of hours before it was their turn to sight-read in front of two "adjudicators".

Finally, at around 7:30 pm, Grace was the next one in line to go into the "room" (in other words, she passed the written test). She was cool as a cucumber. I asked her if she was nervous, and she just shrugged her shoulders and said "No...". When she went in, I tried to listen through the door, but being the deaf person that I am, couldn't hear much.

This sight-reading thing was very difficult. There were three increasingly difficult passages that they had to read. A scale and corresponding arpeggio was played prior, and the student had to start on the tonic note. If, during the reading, they faltered, they had to start at the beginning and had only one chance to do that. They had only one chance to start over from the very beginning, so they were advised to try not to use their "start over" right away. They could choose to use a one syllable sound, like "la la la", or the note names "do re mi". Grace opted for the "do re mi" names, because she felt that it was easier for her. Personally, I would use "la la la", because I CAN'T go down the scale with "do re mi". I'm impressed!

Grace took everything in stride until I was tucking her in bed. Then she broke down and cried, announcing that she really messed up during the sight-reading. I told her that her absolute biggest accomplishment was going in there and trying her best. I told her that I was VERY proud of her and that it doesn't matter what the outcome is. I shared with her some of my auditioning experiences, and that I wasn't always accepted, just sometimes. I reminded her that she's already in "Notes Alive!", along with the other school choruses, and that is an accomplishment in itself. I also reminded her that what she had just faced was very difficult, that I've never seen such advanced demands on 7th and 8th graders.

She went to sleep, finally.

I think it's time to contact her Godfather, Frank Scinta, to let him know (brag) what she's doing...