Sky had worked hard on the solo piece that his private euphonium teacher had wanted him to play. He practiced more when he had solo parts to play in the school band, and this applied even more so, to an entire solo piece. Sky bugged his band teacher to let him play the piece at the next high school concert. His band teacher consented, and the evening had arrived. I was more nervous than my son, as he began to play the beautiful 7 ½ minute piece entitled Morceau Symphonique, with piano accompaniment. At the end of the piece the audience rose to their feet and gave him a standing ovation. It was to be the beginning of a major turning point in Sky’s life.
Sky has played the euphonium since the sixth grade. It is a large horn, the size of a small tuba, and I often wondered why he picked this big awkward instrument to play. In the 8th grade he started taking lessons from a private music teacher named Todd Johnson. Todd is a very patient teacher, who worked well with Sky. Sky’s practice sessions were sporadic at best, and Todd would often express his wish that Sky would practice more. At the time I had a “nagging” priority, with his school work coming first, so the euphonium practice did not always get as much attention as Todd wished. Nevertheless, by Sky’s senior year, Todd was encouraging him to work on solo pieces, and his first solo, the Morceau Symphonique, came off with great success.
Todd now encouraged him to enter the high school District Solo and Ensemble Competition, held in February 2002. Sky played the same piece, Morceau Symphonique and received a 1+ rating, which is about the equivalent of an A+. This was the first that I realized how good he was. I felt a bit guilty that I should have known earlier, how talented he was, and that I should have done more to help promote his musical ability.
Next came the State Championships, April 2002, at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. Sky, Jim (my husband) and I made the 2 1/2 hour drive to Ashland, the evening before the competition and stayed at a motel. Sky wanted piece of mind, knowing we only needed to go across town to the campus the next morning instead of making a long drive from our home.
Sky had brought black dress slacks, a white long sleeved dress shirt and a tie to wear. As Jim was helping him adjust his tie, Sky said that the tie was going to be too tight around his neck to be able to play well. We did not urge him to wear it, knowing that playing well was the most important thing. I was a bit concerned, however, that he would look too casually dressed, and that he might be docked for appearance. My concern rose to the anxiety level, when we arrived at the Southern Oregon campus and saw many of the young men wearing tuxedos.
We dropped Sky off at the registration area, found a parking place, and then proceeded to the hall where he would play his piece. Sky had arranged to meet with his band teacher and, along with his accompanist, was practicing his piece in another area of the building. We entered the room where the “Baritone Horns” were going to perform. As we looked through the booklet we found 12 contestants in all, each beginning their performance 10 minutes apart. Three other students were also playing the Morceau Symphonique, which might not be a good thing, since the judges could make direct comparisons of their efforts.
As the solo performances began, each student was allowed a brief tune up time, and announced by contestant number only. The student could make a brief introduction of his or her piece before beginning to play, and the piece could not exceed 8 minutes. As I listened to each piece being played, I took a few notes on each performance. After a few pieces, I suddenly realized that there was a quality that instantly singled out the best players. The student either played clear distinctive notes – or watery sounding notes.
Sky with the ninth contestant. As the eighth performer was finishing, I looked back to see if he and his band teacher were on hand. As we were applauding for Contestant #8, Sky entered the room and walked up to the front carrying his horn case, and wearing his backpack. I had another twinge of anxiety that he might receive a deduction for this, since all of the other students had left their cases and backpacks at the back of the room. Sky knelt down, took out his euphonium, removed his backpack and stood ready, waiting for a signal from the timer. He nodded to his accompanist and began. This was my opportunity to compare the quality I had noted in the best players – was he playing clear distinctive notes, or were they watery? Much to my pleasure – and relief, Sky played very distinct notes and a beautiful rendition of Morceau Symphonique. On the final note, he looked straight out at the judges and hit it perfectly. (I later asked him if he remembered that, but he did not.)
We listened to the last 3 contestants, with #11 and #12 also playing the Morceau Symphonique. Jim picked one student as a winner, but it was not Sky. I reviewed the notes I had taken and chose the 3 performers that I thought would become the winners. Sky was among them; I thought he could even be #1, but I hesitated to say so. The “Mom factor” could add some bias, but even taking that into account, I thought he would place in the top 3 and that is what I told Jim and Sky when we had a moment together. Sky felt he had played well and was satisfied with his performance – also a good sign.
The awards ceremony was not until 6:30PM, so we would not hear the results until then. In the meantime, Sky went off with a friend, while Jim and I listened to the all of tuba players perform, as well as some of the trombones. I took notes on them, just as I had with the euphoniums, and ranked my top choices.
A little after 6PM we met Sky and headed toward the performance hall where the awards ceremony was to take place. The hall was packed beyond capacity, with people sitting in the aisles and standing along the walls. The Master of Ceremonies had the contestants come up and sit on the floor on stage in order to make room for more people in the audience. The ceremony was delayed a few minutes because of ties the judges were trying to resolve. Finally they began, and I assumed they would announce winners in alphabetical order, so the “baritone” category would be one of the first. But it was not to be. The “Baritone” category was one in which they were still trying to resolve a tie, so it would be announced later!
As it turned out, the category winners were announced in no particular order. I marked the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of each category, in the program booklet. It helped to keep busy, the anticipation was almost as bad as the anxiety. Finally, toward the very end, they announced that a decision had been reached in the “Baritone Horn” category. They announced that the tie had not been broken, instead, they would award a 1st and two 2nd place winners, but no third. The 1st place winner was the one my husband had picked. I held my breath for the next announcement – the two second place winners. The next name that was announced was Sky’s! He pumped his fist and got to his feet to receive his medal as the audience applauded. The other second place winner, also on my top 3 list, reacted in much the same manner as Sky, when his name was announced. Sky was thrilled, and we were thrilled! What a great ending to an exciting day. This was the high light of Sky’s high school career, and a turning point for him.
It was very important to rank in the top 3 because they were the only ones who received medals – the only ones to have their names announced on stage, the only ones to have their names listed in next years program as the previous year’s winners. It’s the recognition, the honor, the thrill of it all! But even more importantly, this medal confirmed to Sky that he had a great deal of musical ability, and he knew this was his calling.
Update-2004
Sky is now a sophomore at the University of Oregon, and doing well. As a Freshman he was accepted into the Wind Ensemble, an elite group made up mostly of upper classman and graduate students.
Update-2009
Sky is now working on his Master’s Degree in Music Performance at DePaul University, in Chicago. He started playing the bass trombone in 2006, because he wanted to play in symphony orchestras, and the Euphonium is rarely used in these groups.
He studies with Charlie Vernon the principal trombonist with the Chicago Symphony.