After a long semester of constant work and preparation, now comes the end of the year, where the big leagues take on the little guys in a musical competition. Students have worked tediously this year, and after all that work is done, there is still more to come, which happens during state finals. This year, FC’s band, choir, and orchestra have all become state finalists.
Getting to the state finals was a long process. Band, choir, and orchestra all went through a process in which they first performed in the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) State Qualification Event for the chance to qualify for state level. Ensembles from across the state come to this event with their most advanced pieces to play. When all is done, out of 48 concert bands, only the top 16 scoring ones move to the finals.
“To qualify for a State Finals Event for band, orchestra, or choir, you have to participate in an event called the state finals qualification round, which happened [two weeks ago] in Evansville for us,” said orchestra director Doug Elmore.
While each music group had a different experience at state, it is relatively the same process to get to state with each group. Each group had a very successful history with getting to state, going over 20 times within the past 30 years.
“We were very proud to have been selected in the top 16 bands in the state,” said band director Jacqueline Johnson. “The literature the Wind Symphony had prepared was very demanding and challenging, and they were performing at a high level. Out of the original 48 ensembles that participated in State Qualifications, the Wind Symphony earned a 10th place finish at State Finals.”
Each musical group played three different pieces during the state finals. The choir played Hela Rotan by Ken Steven, Sicut Locutus Est by J.S. Bach, and Cloudburst, which they also played during state qualifications, by Eric Whitacre. After state finals, the choir will play in the senior farewell concert on May 29, then have their final performance at graduation on June 1.
“We have gotten lots of great opportunities this year and last. Getting to sing with other choirs and the Louisville Orchestra last fall was a very big moment,” said choir director Angela Hampton.
While most of the performances were played separately, there were some groups that performed together and then performed with the rest of their groups later.
“There are 26 students from the Wind Symphony who also perform with the Symphony Orchestra. Those students performed with the orchestra in the morning at Pike High School, then traveled to Lawrence Central High School in the afternoon to perform with the band,” said Johnson.
The orchestra performed three different songs, Dánzon by Arturo Marquez, Symphony No 2 by Howard Hanson II. Andante, and Vårsång by Jean Sibelius.
Several choir students, like junior bass player Emma Rose, senior cellist Eva Duncan, and junior violinist Olivia Seuling, emphasized Dánzon as the song they are most excited to play because it has the most energy, according to Rose, and the audience is able to tell how much they actually like it.
“I really like how everyone enjoys playing [Dánzon], because you can tell in the audience, or at least that’s what my parents said, that we look like we’re enjoying playing it,” said Seuling.
While practice makes perfect, there were still some songs that a couple of students were more nervous to play than others. Vårsång appeared as the song that orchestra students were most nervous to play because of the amount of thinking it takes to line up the chords and instruments correctly.
“I feel like there’s a few parts in there where it’s really hard to lock in our rhythm with the conductor,” said Rose.
Even with her experience being in orchestra, Duncan also agrees as Vårsång being the more difficult song to play.
“There’s a lot that goes into it; thinking. You have to think about the dynamics, you have to think about watching the conductor and being together with everyone else,” said Duncan.
The band also wrapped up the school year, with the Wind Symphony having had their final performance at state finals, finalizing with two long songs and one shorter song.
“The pieces the Wind Symphony performed were Wild Nights by Frank Ticheli, Psalm for Band by Vincent Persichetti, and The “Gum-Suckers” March by Percy Grainger,” said Johnson.
The band earned a lot this year, state finals, gold rankings, and music awards. They placed top 10 at state finals for marching band and concert band, then the other ensembles, including the marching band, jazz lab, gold big band, jazz combo, percussion ensemble, symphonic band, and wind symphony, had earning a rating at the ISSMA awards event called “Gold with Distinction”.
“These ratings earned the Floyd Central Band the ‘ISSMA All Music Award,’ which is given to programs that have demonstrated excellence across the entire spectrum of the events offered by ISSMA. Especially with this being the first year with two new directors, we were very happy with how hard the students worked and what we were able to accomplish together,” said Johnson. “We are already looking forward to next year.”
With state finals over and the school year looking to an end, each musician can now get the chance to look back on their progress and admire how far they have come. Freshmen will look to the future, sophomores have more to reminisce about but still so much ahead to look forward to, juniors will strive to become the new leaders, and seniors will graduate knowing that they have played their time well at Floyd Central.