And all that Jazz!

The Jazz Festival was a success! It was my first year as a college student being part of it. I actually played in it in high school but it was just in, on, and out. This year, however, consisted of an nine-hour day at the school helping set the stage every half-hour for the next band, directing, and drinking a lot of coffee! Then it was time to get ready for the big concert! The concert went really well. I was nervous on and off throughout the week, but once I got on stage, I felt pretty comfortable. I thought of how wonderful it was to share music with people. I thought of the people in the audience that loved me and were proud of me. I thought of how much I love music and all the hard work we put into those tunes. And when it was over, I wished that it wasn't...The next day was more of the same, high school bands playing every half-hour, but there were more clinics done by the guest artists. Since we all only had to work half of the day on Saturday, I was able to catch a few clinics. I think my favorite was the guest artist was the trumpet/jazz improv clinic. He had some good things to say about practicing, playing with history, different types of mouthpieces for different sounds. There was something that stood out to me though. He said that was was never the best, never won awards or things like that in high school or wherever, but that he just kept practicing. Now he is absolutely amazing! One of my favorite things about watching/listening to the guest artists play together is how much they respond to eachother! They are truly communicating through music. One person would play something, then someone else would mimic that or build on it or support it. What a great weekend!!!