Two Avon seniors will travel to Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre in Rochester early next month to perform alongside the best high school musicians New York State has to offer.
Michael C. was selected as a tenor in the New York State School Music Association’s Conference All-State Mixed Chorus this past August following a rigorous audition process during the previous school year.
As part of his audition, Michael performed Ständchen by Franz Schubert, a level 6 solo - the most difficult tier - that also happened to be in German. He scored a perfect 100, which is typically a prerequisite to even be considered for selection to the prestigious musical group.
Michael said he’s been hard at work over the past couple of months rehearsing the seven songs he and his fellow mixed chorus members will soon perform.
“One of them’s an Indian one, we have a German, we have some English ones and then we have - I think we have one Italian in there, too,” he said.
Of the seven songs, Michael has found the Indian one - “TaReKiTa,” by Reena Esmail - to be the most challenging.
“It’s pretty fast, up tempo,” he said. “Plus, the pronunciation… is a lot different from any other language.”
Mrs. Cynthia Towler, Michael’s choral director at Avon, described Michael as an exemplary musician - both vocally and instrumentally (Michael also plays the saxophone).
Following her audition last spring, Courtney Y. was selected to play the bass clarinet in NYSSMA’s Conference All-State Symphonic Band.
She called the audition process “stressful,” not least of all because she was also rehearsing a vocal solo for her all-state chorus audition at the same time as her instrumental one.
“I didn’t think I was going to get in,” said Courtney, who scored a 98 on her level 6 solo for bass clarinet. “My mom didn't even think I was going to get in.”
But she did get in and has been rehearsing her songs ever since - especially “Paris Sketches” by Martin Ellerby that the composer has described as his love letter to the French capital - that, with three movements over six pages, Courtney has found to be the most challenging.
“Usually for bass clarinet or low instruments, you're just playing whole notes, very long nothingness, but not in all-state,” she said. “In all-state, I’m doing all the runs and all of the high notes and sharps and flats all the time like regular clarinets would.”
Courtney actually started out playing the regular clarinet and was introduced to the bass version of the instrument by her former teacher, Alison Laurier, who retired at the end of the last school year. One of the harder parts about switching over to the bass clarinet was adjusting her embouchure, or the way in which she fits her mouth to the mouthpiece of her instrument.
“The bass clarinet is a lot bigger for the mouthpiece and the regular one is a lot smaller, so I had to re-learn how to play my instrument basically - it’s completely different,” Courtney explained. “...when playing my bass clarinet, I kind of have to sing to get the low notes at the same time, just to get them out. So that was difficult and kind of just, like, the different hand placements because… a bass clarinet is much longer.”
Mrs. Charlotte Collins, Courtney’s band director, praised Courtney’s musical ability and said she’s “proven herself by performing in many select ensembles over her time in the music program.”
“While Courtney's main instrument is the clarinet, she has a natural ability for the bass clarinet,” continued Collins. “Her tone is rich and beautiful and is complimented by her incredible technique. She is an asset to the ensembles that she participates in.”
Michael’s mixed chorus concert is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Kodak Hall, 60 Gibbs St., Rochester. Courtney’s symphonic band concert is the following day, Sunday, Dec. 5 at 10 a.m., in the same venue.
General admission tickets to each concert cost $28. To purchase tickets, click here or call the Eastman Theatre box office at (585) 274-3000.
Michael said he’s looking forward to his upcoming concert, and the weekend of lengthy rehearsals that will precede it, in no small part because of his past experiences in other honors ensembles which he said have always been positive.
“They're really fun because it's just like - it's a bunch of people who are serious about music and they all come together to make great music,” he said.