KATY METCALF
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Friday, Nov. 28, 2008

I WOKE UP last Saturday at 6 a.m. It wasn't fun.

I was dressed, packed, and sitting on a yellow bus by 7, my knees crammed to my chest thanks to my viola sitting on the floor beneath me.

Fellow sophomore and clarinetist Katherine Floess, sitting next to me, had her feet out in the aisle, and gave my case a resentful glance every few minutes. We left late, everyone was tired, and instruments took up most of the space. It was a long ride.

Twenty-four musicians strong, we were heading to Illinois State University for the annual all-district music festival.

Fortunately, though, we were fully awake by the time we reached Normal and ready to work.

Each October the Illinois Music Educators Association auditions players of all instruments and vocal ranges in districts all across the state. The best are invited to their respective district music festivals, and the top chairs of each section are then invited to the state festival in Peoria in late January.

A total of 27 Uni musicians made all-district this year (see complete list below). Four of them — seniors Clement Dossin, Karen Han, Miguel Zamora-Mills, and subfreshman Aaron Wilson — performed at the district jazz festival Nov. 1 at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington.

Han, who was both all-district jazz band and orchestra, performed again on Saturday, Nov. 22, with the rest of us. In all, we had 13 Uni students in the high school division (band, orchestra, chorus), and 11 in the junior high division (band, strings, chorus). I was in the high school orchestra. (Actually, only 12 of us high schoolers participated, because freshman violinist Annie Rong couldn't make it.)

We wait backstage as the chorus performs. Gargoyle photos by Katy Metcalf (click to enlarge)

The Brown Ballroom was where we were supposed to be warming up … but we mostly played cards and talked.

At the district festival, each group practices their selections throughout the day, and then plays a concert that evening.

We piled off the bus, instruments held to our chests, if they were small enough, or on our backs, if they weren't.

Waving goodbye to our friends in the chorus, those of us in orchestra headed in the general direction that Uni music teacher Rick Murphy had indicated, hoping someone in front of us knew where they were going.

An IMEA person stopped us after a moment and gave us directions. The building she'd pointed us to was huge, and very castle-esque.

"Just like home," commented someone.

Those of us with large instruments pushed our way onto an elevator, those with smaller ones jogged up three flights of stairs. We all came out into a room, not very large, and opened our cases, tuned our instruments. The blackboard read, "Welcome IMEA District III Orchestra!"

District officials had already determined which chair we would be playing based on our auditions, but we didn't know their decisions until now. Once I figured out where the viola section was, it was pretty clear I hadn't done well during my audition — the last chair in the section had a sticky note with my name on it.

I was fine sitting in the back, though, and shortly after I'd introduced myself to my stand partner (Rachel Schifano, violist extraordinaire from Bloomington,) we started.

Though we only had three pieces, we practiced for a little more than four hours, and by the time we were dismissed for lunch, my hands were aching from the speed of the Tchaikovsky, the depth of the Elgar, and the sheer strangeness of the tempo of the bluesy Wilson.

After a short meal at ISU's equivalent of the Illini Union, we headed back to the castle (which they called Cook Hall), only to find that our room was locked. So we sat in the hall. On the floor. By ourselves.

We hang out with Austin and Sarah in the ballroom.

The chorus sounded really good, but we could only see their backs from backstage.

A short while later some of the other musicians came back, including Sarah the percussionist and Austin the bassist, both from Normal.

We made introductions and started talking. Then one of the flutists appeared and dropped his music all over the floor.

"He deserved it; he's been mean all day," said Sarah. "Major karma-l buildup."

"Now that's a sticky situation," chimed Austin, and we laughed. And then we were friends.

After a while, they unlocked the room and ushered us in, giving us a few minutes to warm up before we resumed practicing. I recognized a violist I'd met at the auditions and went to go say hi.

While we were talking, I remembered how he'd said that any violist who auditioned would get in, but there were only 12 here, and I knew that at least 15 had tried. When I mentioned this, he just laughed.

"I knew they weren't all going to get in," he said.

"So why'd you tell me they would?" I asked.

"Because I knew you'd get in, and it would give you the confidence to get through your audition. Isn’t that the important thing?"

And, after I thought about it for a moment, I realized he was right.

After a few hours more of practice, they dismissed us for a final break before the concert. We changed and headed down to the Bone Student Center, where the whole thing would take place.

Meeting up with Sarah and Austin, we chatted in the big, empty ballroom where we were intended to warm up. Instead, though, we just talked, and watched a group of Bloomington boys play cards. One of them had a popped collar … Sarah and I fixed it for him. We told him it was no longer the '80s, that he should move on. He ignored us, put it back up. Austin laughed from a distance.

Though we tried to get in to see the band and chorus concerts, they were sold out, and we had to listen from backstage. It was crowded, with first and second chairs frantically reviewing their music, and the rest of us just as nervous but not motivated to do anything but talk.

When it was finally our turn, we were ushered onto the stage, where we took our seats, prepared our music. We stomped our feet for the concert master, the conductor. All I could think about was how hot the lights were, and how badly I was going to mess up. We tuned, and my stand partner’s peg popped out just as we were finishing. She fixed it quietly and I gave her the note as the conductor spoke.

When he stepped up, we all raised out instruments, and then it started.

And then it stopped. I don't remember much of the actual playing, except that it was all very fast, and it was all I could do to keep up. There was clapping and cheering, and though we were happy that we sounded good, I think everyone was more happy just to be done.

We retreated backstage, bid adieu to our new friends, packed up our instruments, and located our parents. My hands hurt, my head hurt, but I was glad to have come. On the car ride home, I couldn’t stop humming the catchier bars, and I was still listening to the music in my head when I fell asleep.

Though I've never played so much in a single day, it was fun. I'll definitely be back next year, IMEA. Maybe I'll even practice in advance.

Uni IMEA All-DISTRICT MUSICIANS

High School Jazz Band

• Clement Dossin (sr), alto saxophone, Band 1
• Karen Han (sr), piano, Band 2
• Miguel Zamora-Mills (sr), guitar, Band 2

High School Band

• Francois Dossin (fr), flute
• Katherine Floess (so), clarinet
• Marie Lilly (fr), clarinet

High School Orchestra

• Karen Han (sr), oboe
• Amanda Hwu (so), trumpet
• Claire Liu (so), cello
• Katy Metcalf (so), viola
• Kathy Qiu (fr), violin
• Annie Rong (fr), violin

High School Chorus

• Daniel Borup (sr), bass
• Zach Goldberg (jr), tenor
• Elizabeth Russell (jr), soprano
• Daniel Wilson (jr), bass

Junior High Jazz Band *

• Aaron Wilson, trombone

Junior High Band *

• James Boyle, trumpet
• Leif Hague, clarinet
• Bissy Michael, trumpet
• Paul Seeley, tenor saxophone

Junior High Strings *

• Erin Berl, violin
• Ryan McAllister, violin
• Sherry Qiu, violin
• Petra Rantanen, cello

Junior High Chorus *

• Ella Lubienski, soprano
• Juliana Trach, soprano
• Julia Zuo, soprano

* All junior high honorees are subfreshmen.