Blue spotlights cast a dramatic glow as each soloist plays for their family, the community, and the band. All nine Young Artist Contest finalists worked on their music for two months, played through the semi-finalist auditions, and finally made it to the big stage May 6.
Junior Rithvik Akasam played “Violent Shadows” by Chris Evan Hess on bass trombone.
“Some of the things that went well were managing all the parts that were really loud and being able to control that volume to deliver a great, effective performance, which helped me get into finals,” Akasam said. “Something I would do differently would be to definitely spend more time with a piano. There are a lot of super tough rhythms that we were never able to properly clean.”
Akasam said he thinks that the Young Artist Contest is great for the band program because the friendly competition motivates everyone to push each other and get better while playing a song of their choice.
Young Artists Contest is an in-school competition where band members prepare a solo of their choice to perform for judges. The judges will rate the performance based on musical attention, technique, and overall performance on a one-to-five scale (one being the best, five being unprepared). On April 23, judges chose nine finalists in the finals.
Junior Gustavo Perez played “Concerto for Euphonium” by Karl Jenkins on the euphonium at YAC.
“The Young Artist Competition [sic] is very positive for the band program. It gives people time to work on their own individual skills. Soloing and playing in a band setting or any ensemble setting are completely different skills, and giving people the opportunity to show off that work and that unique skill of solo work is immensely beneficial,” Perez said. “If I were to do this process differently would have practiced with the metronome more. With solos like the one I played, where there are a lot of very subdivided, fast rhythms, having a little more alignment security would have been better.”
Perez said that having so many finalists reflects on the improvement of individual playing throughout the band.
At YAC, sophomore Andrew Bradley played “Pequena Czarda” by Pedro Itturalde on saxophone.
Bradley said, “YAC truly pushes players to become better. My lesson teacher told me how much this solo improved me, even just from the first to the second semester, and I believe that anyone can achieve this kind of improvement. If I were to do this process again, I would ask the directors if I could play in the PAC by myself because it was a very different environment to play in.”
He said he prepared for playing with a piano accompaniment by listening to videos to figure out how his part lines up with the piano.
Senior Caden Lacour played “Happiness” by Adam Tan on the marimba.
“YAC is extremely positive for the band program. Solo contests are one of the only truly effective ways to work on your musicianship as an individual. Working on a solo, refining how you play and approach a style of music, is a way that musicians exponentially grow,” Lacour said. “ If I were to do this again, I would probably allow a little bit more practice time after school. I feel this way only because there’s a lot that I had to get through this year in terms of other responsibilities, and if there was a way for me to get back some of the time I gave up for that, I would certainly take it.”
Lacour said having so many finalists shows the determination and dedication of the players.
