The Garrison Sextet competed on Saturday, February 23 and received a gold rating with a score of 10.5. Pictured from left to right is senior Traci Longanecker, senior Jackson Garrison, junior Joseph Brennan, freshman Eric Burch, junior Shelby Haisley, and sophomore Anthony Boener. Photo provided by Kelly Haisley.
By Eric Burch
Plymouth High School’s Band and Orchestra attended State Solo and Ensemble at North Central High School. Of the 33 entries, 27 received a gold rating and six received a silver.
On February 23, music students made their way to Indianapolis to participate in State Solo and Ensemble. In order to advance to state competition, students must take a Group l Solo or Ensemble and also get a gold rating. Group I is the most challenging level where one can perform a piece of music, and gold is the highest rating one can receive. Band director Bryan Ames said, “This was an outstanding showing for the Plymouth Band. We normally have a good number of kids make it to the state level, but this year was exceptional.”
Advancing to state obviously takes practice, but how the practice takes place is student decision. Students made the choice as to how they prepared themselves for the competition. Senior Matt Scutchfield says that he has been practicing since August, while senior Traci Longanecker and junior Shelby Haisley said that they had been practicing since November. “I practiced for a long time. We started working for Solo and Ensemble before Christmas Break, then after break we worked on it twice a week all the way until District. Then whoever qualified for State practiced for two more weeks after that until the weekend of State,” explained senior Casey McDonald about her voyage to state. To prepare for State, senior Kaitlyn Lee said she “took an independent study for band second trimester and practiced my heart out every day.”
Longanecker says that it is not her first time qualifying for state. “It’s my second year in a row qualifying for state but this is my first time going.” McDonald tells that she has a similar situation, “This is my second year qualifying for State, because the entire Wind Ensemble woodwinds qualified but we didn’t go because of a drumline conflict. This year was the first year I actually got to attend to State Finals.” Unlike McDonald, Lee has been in State every year since she started high school. The students got to decide whether they wanted to do a solo, or team up and do an ensemble. McDonald, Lee, and Scutchfield took solos, while Longanecker and Haisley took an ensemble. “I did an ensemble. The others in the group were Traci Longenecker playing trumpet, Eric Burch playing French horn, Anthony Boener playing Euphonium, Jack Garrison playing trombone,and Joe Brennan playing tuba,” Haisley elaborates.
Music provides students with more than just competition. Haisley and Scutchfield were asked if they believed that music makes students smarter. “I would say in some ways. Not everyone that is in band is an Albert Einstein, but we do have an advantage in some subjects. Because we are constantly looking at the notes, trying to remember the fingering for that note, how long to hold the note, and so forth,” Haisley replied. Scutchfield says, “Absolutely! There is plenty of evidence out there that shows test scores increasing with participation in music classes. It expands your tastes and makes you a more focused student.” When questioned about how music influences her life, McDonalds states “I love music! It’s probably the one thing that I can go do and play well and nobody judges me. Whenever I’m upset or nervous I go and play my flute or piano and it calms me down.”
All in all, Plymouth High School’s band and orchestra came back with more wins than losses. Months of practice, repetitive measures, and rehearsal for other concerts in between resulted in the band students bringing home more gold medals than previous years.