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Hornline Audition


Matt

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Yes I remember auditions very clearly. I left East Lansing on Thanksgiving weekend 96 on a Friday. I went with one of my good friends, Ben W. from Phantom (95).  Actually we left from Jackson MI. which was where he was from. We drove up to Rockford and spent the night there in the hotel where PR was having their banquet/party. Ben wanted to see some of the old folks he had marched with, and talk about their year. Everyone was sporting their rings, if I remember correctly. Poor Ben could have marched in 96 that year but decided not to for a reason I can not remember now.

Well, it was a pretty fun party that night and people were asking me if I was auditioning for PR. Reluctantly I replied "uh, no I am going up to Madison tomorrow". They seemed a bit surprised but they said, hey those guys are pretty in Mad-town.

The next morning Ben dropped me off at the Greyhound station right off the freeway there in Rockford. He decided to spend the day with PR as I wound up taking the Greyhound up to Madison. The bus ride there, I felt sick to my stomach. How could I live up to those soprano lines from years past? On the finals videos there were just awesome. Just thinking about it made me nervous, uneasy, and queasy.  I remember Pat S. picking us up at the bus depot and taking us to East H.S.  There was an orientation for everyone and then auditions started. There seemed to be a fair number of people auditioning. If I remember right it was 500-800 for 60 spots. I knew the soprano section needed some players, there were only going to be 3 returning vets in that section for the 97 season.  I went to audtion later in the day and played parts of the Artunian Concerto and a scale up to a high F. Feeling pretty good about the audition, they then asked me if I was going to be able to march the rest of my years there and also why I wanted to be a part of the group.

Saturday night I stayed with the Jaekel's which seemed to be a hot spot for many rookies that year. I remember sleeping downstairs and some of the vets reminicing and watching the 96 videos.

Sunday was a day of doing stretching and learning the basics of Madison marching. By this time I was trying to figure out how to get back to Rockford. I didnt know where Ben was and what we had planned. So I kept on bothering Pat and letting him know that I needed to get back to Rockford somehow. He said "hey, you made the cuts and are in the corps, what are you worried about getting back to Rockford for". And thats when I knew I was in. I probably knew before anyone else, because usually they start pulling people out of visual in groups to let them know.

About five minutes after I found out I made it I saw Ben. He decided to drive up to Madison to pick me up. What a guy! He stuck around and watched visual and then my name got called along with others from visual and I knew we were going to the big meeting with Scott. I had made it. All those years of watching them on videos and listening to them on CD's and now I was a part of it. It was unbelievable. I even got to take home my soprano. A very special moment in my life. Later that day we left and drove back to East Lansing. We got back about 1 or 2 in the morning. I thanked Ben for everything and he drove off. I went right up to my buddies room (another guy named Ben who marched 96 sop in Madison) and told him the good news. We celebrated with a little Goldschlager and beer. Man, that was a great weekend. To this day I owe Ben the dude from Phantom big. He really made it possible for me to go audition and spend three of the best summers of my life with Madison.

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CORRECTION from above. Second paragraph.

"pretty cool in Mad-town"

^:)

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My very first brass rehearsal in drum corps was with Blue Devils B.  Jack Meehan handed me a soprano and asked me to play middle C.

"How do you do that?"

10 months later, I auditioned for the Blue Devils A corps in front of Jack and Wayne Downey.  I had to do lip slurs, some tongueing exercises, range,  and a solo.  I hacked my way through the slurs.  Half way through the solo, all that came out of my horn was air (...but I didn't stop playing, kept on going).

When I was done....well.....I knew I didn't make it.

I was completely floored a while later when Jerry Seawright announced who made the horn line.  So, I spent the entire offseaon and summer wondering when  I was going to get cut, never believing that I deserved to be in the BD horn line.  But I sure worked my tail off trying to improve my brass playing.

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Audition?

Here, have a mellophone?  It's been 9 years? Then play 2nd, unless you want to play 1st.

I moved to 1st this year.

And Jean, you have to play for them to determine if you should have to move or not...  :p

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