Dear 5th, 6th, and 7th grade band parents,
I just wanted to share the great news with you, in case you have not heard already. Yesterday, the Hawley 8th grade band performed at the Carowinds Festival of Music, along with bands and orchestras from all around North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Their performance was judged by two of the most highly-respected bandmasters in the country, as well as world-famous composer and our friend James Swearingen.
Our performance was given the Superior rating, which is the highest possible rating. In fact, we received the Superior rating from all three judges.
I wanted to take a moment to explain this in a little more detail, because if you have not been involved in the "band world" for very long, you may not know how significant this Superior rating is. I spoke with the judges yesterday and asked them a question I have never asked them before: how many bands earn this Superior rating at the festival? Not because I want to degenerate this into some kind of competition, but rather I wanted some frame of reference for how rare this achievement is. While it was hard to give an exact number, they said it is about 10%. So over an entire day of band and orchestra performances, they may give the Superior rating twice on average.
I was encouraged by the answer I received. It should be very, very difficult to earn this rating, or it would not mean much, right? And it was very, very difficult. Your children worked on this music for months. Every note, every detail, every volume change, and every style marking on the sheet music had to be played correctly. On top of all of that, everyone had to play with beautiful characteristic tone on their instrument, everyone had to play in tune with each other, everyone had to maintain rhythm and tempo together, everyone had to execute changes to these elements together and in unison.... on and on. And on top of all of that, everyone had to follow through and execute all of this while maintaining composure through stage fright.
It is incredibly difficult. Almost nobody does it. Our 8th grade band did.
In fact, this is the fourth year in a row that I have taken the Hawley 8th grade band to this festival and earned the Superior rating.
Music is art, and I don't think it should be reduced to winning trophies. The trophies should not be the point of a band program. That said, the trophies are a symptom, an indicator that your children are receiving a quality music education.
I am sharing all of this with you for three reasons: first, I hope you will join me in congratulating our 8th grade students for their incredible achievement. Second, I hope that you feel encouraged by it... have confidence that your child is receiving a quality music education and is involved in a solid band program here at Hawley, one of the best in the state. Third, I hope your child feels inspired... it will be their turn soon!
TOMORROW NIGHT (Monday) at 6:00pm in the Hawley cafeteria, we have have another band parent orientation and instrument tryout night for 5th graders. If you have any friends who might be interested in 6th grade band next year, even if they have no previous experience, please tell them to come to this meeting. They will get to learn about our band program and try all the instruments to see which one they might want to play. Thank you for spreading the word!
And congratulations again, SUPERIOR 8th grade band! Justin Dickson