UMEA State Band Festival

I had the privilege of chaperoning Ryan's Concert band group as they attended the Utah Music Educators Association State Band Festival at the Libby Gardner Concert Hall.  It was a really cool experience to be able to go with the band all the way from the school (they arrived two hours before school started) as they were greeted by their administrators and counselors who were all so proud of their accomplishment, all the way up to the concert hall in downtown Salt Lake City.  The kids earned the spot by being among the top 15 bands in the state.  Their director, Brian Cox is an incredible Middle School Band instructor and he's taken the school from a 10 piece brass section to this robust program in a short three years.

When we arrived at the concert hall it was hard to keep the kids (all 75+ of them) quiet as they could hardly contain their excitement.  We shuffled in to the concert hall and watched three other bands perform ahead of us.  Then they went out to retrieve their instruments and up to the ballroom to practice and warm-up with Mr. Cox.  

Even just being in the ballroom was exciting.  I could tell there were nerves among them but they sounded really good as they warmed up.  I'm not sure how well they listened to Mr. Cox tell them about what kind of echoes to expect inside the concert hall but we were up next after just 10 minutes of warm-up time.

They were presented with their award, and then they played three songs.  First was Joy, then They Led my Lord away, and Last was Fable.
Then they had their photo professionally taken.  I am not a professional photographer, nor did I have anything other than an iPhone with me to take this photo.  I'm pretty sure you can't see Ryan below.

The last thing they did was pretty neat.  They got to go into the University of Utah Marching Band practice room and receive a clinic with some of the best Middle School Band instructors in the Nation.  They were given a piece of music and three minutes to look over it silently.  Then they were given three minutes of instruction with Mr. Cox and asked to perform the song.  It's basically a cold performance (in video below).

Then they received some advice and instruction from the experts in preparation for their upcoming Regional Band Festival.

It was definitely a very cool experience and I'm so glad I was able to go.  More importantly, I'm proud of Ryan for really sticking with Band and not just giving it a one-year try.  He's worked hard, it hasn't been easy, and he's improved so much.