An hour and a half after the last bell rang, the campus still swarmed with activity. To an outsider, the courtyard looked as still and quiet as ever, but someone looking close enough might catch a flash of movement from within the halls and practice rooms, or spot something out of place—an extra table, a group moving a piano, a sign on a hallway door. Inside, band students still hurried about, talking and practicing and waiting for others to arrive, including many from other schools. Within the next half hour, the campus transformed from the typical after-school apocalyptic wasteland into a showcase filled with music and commotion. The cause of this excitement? The Seminole County Band Solo and Ensemble.
Held from Feb. 14–Feb. 15, Solo and Ensemble allowed band students to perform pieces individually (as a “solo”) or in groups (as part of an “ensemble”) before judges, who then scored them based on their technical correctness and musicality. The event’s location rotates each year, and this time, Hagerty took a turn as the host. Hagerty had the most participation of any school in the county, earning 121 Superior ratings, and 20 Excellent ratings.
Members of the Tri-M honor society helped with setup, bringing pianos to rooms where performers required accompaniment, putting up flyers with QR codes where students could find their ratings, and greeting the students from other schools.
Senior Kat Arnott, a member of Tri-M, participated in the event for the first time this year. Arnott helped set up beforehand, and then performed later that night.
“I was a little bit nervous at the beginning, but overall, it was a great experience,” Arnott said. “I wish [I] had taken the chance to participate [in the past]. It’s a great way to expose yourself to anxiety in a safe environment.”
Arnott played a spiritual song called “Deep River” as a solo performance on the tuba, and was scored as Superior.
“The event is honestly pretty supportive,” Arnott said. “Everyone, including the judges, wants you to do the best you can.”
Arnott’s band teacher chose the piece, and they spent weeks practicing at home and listening to recordings for reference. Other students, like junior Nova Vescio, worked with a private instructor to choose a piece and practice.
“My teacher picked out a few pieces that he thought would best work with me,” Vescio said. “We then ran through them each once and then whichever one I liked the best was the one we picked.”
Band students anticipated this event far in advance, and Vescio spent months preparing, before finally receiving a Superior rating, and better feedback than in any previous years.
“It was both less stressful and more stressful [than previous years] at the same time,” Vescio said. “I usually got the highest score but last year I had a less than ideal performance and failed that rating. I felt like I needed to redeem myself this year even though the piece I was playing felt extremely comfortable and nice to play.”
Sophomore Amalia Sego played Mozart’s “Concerto No. 3 in E-flat.” She found the judges’ feedback both kind and helpful going forward.
“I skipped a bar, and that was not very fun, but [the judge] mentioned a couple musicality things that could be better,” Sego said. “Other than that, he thought I was great. I’m definitely going to watch my style. I’m going to watch my measures, and count my rests.”
For band students, the individual part of the year concluded with Solo and Ensemble, but the final group evaluation will take place on March 6 at Lyman High School, when the concert band, symphonic band and wind ensemble participate in the Music Performance Assessment.
