Student performers face music during rigorous festival evaluations

Music departments banded together on March 2 for the Solo and Ensemble festival. Students from various schools in the Fox Valley traveled to the new Neenah High School for this nerve-racking day. Musicians from choir, band, and orchestra have the opportunity to perform at the festival.

West choir teacher Bethany Meyer explains what Solo and Ensemble entails.

“Solo and Ensemble is a music festival for high school and middle school students through WSMA, which is the Wisconsin School of Music Association,” she said. “Students choose pieces off a specific list that are differentiated by class, so some easier things are class C and the harder things are class A. They work on those songs either by themselves or in small groups and then go in front of a judge and get a rating.”

Students don’t have to perform in front of judges, and they also have the option to do the school recital, where they have a time slot and perform in front of their teacher. The choir held their recital on February 29 after school.

Meyer enjoys hearing and working with different individual sounds, helping students individually grow as musicians.

“I enjoy Solo and Ensemble time because I get to work with students one on one, or on a small group basis, and actually get to talk about their individual voices and sounds rather than the whole group sound,” she said.

Preparation for this event takes ample time and effort as music students begin in November after their fall concerts to learn their difficult pieces. Meyer stresses the importance of using time management to do what needs to get done.

“We pick songs out in November, and then we get one or two days a week to work on those songs and perfect them,” she said. “The students who use their work time wisely are the ones that probably do the best, and the students who don’t, don't find the same success, but everyone has a couple months to prepare.”

West and North orchestra teacher Yukiko Grine describes the steps necessary to be successful in solo and ensemble.

“It’s a big unit of study during the winter, and it runs concurrently with the All-City orchestra concert,” she said. ‘We alternate days during which the students do some independent learning. Also, they can get instructional strategies from me and one another.”

Grine felt tasks would help students understand their music.

“There are different assignments that we do throughout the unit to analyze the music, to research historical background and context,’ she said. ‘To give the musicians enough background and foundational knowledge of their piece so that they have a good understanding."

Meyer emphasizes the importance of individual performance within group performance, as well as the importance of learning a piece individually.

“Solo and Ensemble is required in the music class curriculum because, in the music classes, they are ensemble classes, so nobody that signs up necessarily wants to sing solos or perform by themselves, but it’s those individual skills that make the ensemble better,” she said. “So as we grow as individual musicians our ensembles get better because everybody is bringing the upper-level musicianship to the table, so I know it’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but it does amp up the musicianship because learning something on your own is a whole different game than learning in a large group.”

This year had an incredible turnout of students willing to put themselves out there, many of whom were underclassmen trying it for the first time. Meyer recognized the difficulty of singing in front of a judge, as performing can be vulnerable for some.

“I was impressed with the turnout this year; getting up in front of other people to sing for other people, especially for choir, is tough,” she said. “Singing is such a personal act; nobody sounds the same, so I was really thrilled with the amount of choir students that decided to go, the amount of freshmen for the first time, upperclassmen being those leaders. It was exciting seeing how many events we had, and how many events actually made it to state.”

Grine agreed with the turnout as she understands the anxiety of performing is very difficult, and congratulates those who conquered those fears.

“I was generally very happy with the students’ progress and also with the outcomes, especially for those who went to the festival this year,” she said. “I thought overall the students did their absolute best, dealing with any type of performance anxiety they might have, and overcoming that. Being able to perform and demonstrate the work that they have done over these two and a half months.”

Senior choir student Angelina Vu prefers the festival over the school recital as the judges offer new opportunities.

“The festival is a lot of fun, you get a lot of great feedback from judges,” she said “It’s nice to prepare for something and get feedback and have the potential to move onto state.”

For junior violist Holly Roe, the judges offer a breath of fresh air for new opinions.

“I decided to do the festival because I’m able to get a judge's opinion and perspective on how I play rather than my orchestra teacher who's heard me for several years,” she said. “It’s such a different and unique experience than just performing in general, and you’re able to get an outside person’s perspective on how you play.”

Sophomore choir student at North, Evelynn Voss, likes the achievement after doing well but also recognizes the challenge, as well as the experience.

“I like the sense of accomplishment when you do well, but also a sense of challenge you have to face,” she said. “Learning a piece and constantly improving it, when you do well, brings that rewarding feeling, because you worked really hard, and even if you don’t do well, it’s still a learning experience.”

Senior choir student Michael Mueller enjoys connecting with songs, and the opportunity to have a solo that some might not have.

“I like to really work with a piece and get to know it, especially classical pieces are easier to get personal with because they are like art pieces, rather than musical theater pieces,” he said. “Musical theater pieces are fun because you get to perform as yourself; sometimes people don’t get solos in musicals, and it’s nice to have that solo piece.”

Freshman bassoon player Kali Spellman feels the festival gets her doing things; it also gives hope for a future as a musician.

“I wanted to do the festival because I wanted to get out and actually do things, instead of just staying in school. I just like getting music out there, and getting myself out there as a musician.”

Voss feels it’s easy for the competition to get in her head and feels it is better to take it in rather than worry about it.

“I enjoy it because I know it’s easy to get caught in your head, and wanting to do the best you can possibly do,” she said, “but honestly just enjoying it has helped me do even better. I do better when I’m enjoying it than focusing on doing everything right.”

Mueller enjoys the chance to do a solo piece instead of the group experience, making it more special to do well.

“I like doing Solo and Ensemble because it’s a chance to take a piece of music and individually do really good with it,” he said. “It's nice to be a part of a choir, and have that big overarching group experience, but it’s also nice to have that solo experience.”

Solo and Ensemble offer new skills and opportunities, such as performance, individualism, and advocacy skills. Grine feels strongly that this grows students into better musicians.

“I’m just proud of the students who can gain strategies and skills necessary to be working effectively and independently or collaboratively depending on their performance,” she said. “Also working on their self-advocacy skills, like asking for help when they need it, and seeking out extra opportunities to grow and if you really take this unit seriously, this is the time of year that students have the most opportunity to grow as an individual musician."

by Tenna Ruetten

Published April 1st 2024

Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue VI