Posted by Karl Parks on November 24, 2000 at 22:46:14:
In Reply to: Tips for All-State auditions posted by Sean Chisham on November 19, 2000 at 12:33:22:
When I went to high school in Ohio some 30+ years ago, I do not recall if there was an all-state concert band via the OMEA. However I did tryout in several College/University all-state concert bands including Bowling Green and Ohio Weslyan. By the time I was a senior I always was fortunate to be granted first chair, but I never considered myself much more than a mediocre tuba player. In fact, after graduating college with a Music Ed degree, I never did enter a music teaching profession.
Reading Sean's comments brought back memories, but also got me wondering if the caliber of today's players are more advanced than when I was in school. So, my question is for those that have been in the instrumental music arena for a few years:
Has the level of playing ability coming out of high school improved a lot over the last 30 years? If so, why?
My three sons all play brass instruments (2 trumpet players now playing in college bands and a baritone player starting his freshman year). I therefore am familiar with some of the high school programs in Central Florida, but I am not able to make any general comparisons with their high school music education and mine. I attended a small high school where the marching band was made up of 7-12 graders, because there were only appr 60 persons in each graduating class, whereas the schools in Florida have 500 or more per class. The size of the school therefore provided different opportunties.
Karl Parks
Orlando, FL