1. One of the biggest parts of my life during my four years in high school has been the band program at my school. In particular, the past two years as a member of the honors wind ensemble have affected my life greatly. The best part of my day is the last period, where I have the opportunity to create beautiful music with many of my best friends. It is an honor to participate in this elite group, and it is a huge challenge to be selected into the band. Two years ago, I would have never imagined that I would sit fourth chair in this audition-only band: my performance in band related activities was significantly different during that time.
The Pennsylvania Educator’s Music Association allows high school instrumentalists to audition for what is known as “Honors Band” each November. Each instrument has its own audition piece, and all students audition on the same song. This music is extremely challenging: it is often five or more pages and includes very technical…show more content… I took every necessary measure to be sure I would make it: I obtained the music months in advance, starting taking private lessons, and practiced every day. When November came, and it was time for Honors Band auditions once again, I felt positive and walked into the audition room confidently. Everything went well, or so I thought. Hours later, when results were released, I unfortunately learned I did not make the cut once again. Degraded, I went back to school the next day angry with myself. However, I knew that wind ensemble auditions were again quickly approaching, and I wanted to prove to everyone how great of a player I truly was. I met with my band directors often to discuss what I could improve and always took the advice they gave me. Wind ensemble auditions came, and I was admitted to the band. Six months later, I tried out for Honors Band for the third time, and