All- City and State Contest

Last weekend for me was very stressful because I had the State Music Contest. The weekend before that was the All-City Music Contest. At both of these contests I played a solo, a flute ensemble, and in a woodwind choir. All of them were very challenging and it took me a long time to learn the music. All-City didn’t end up going that well because I didn’t do very good on my solo, which was what I was most concerned about. I thought my performance was pretty good but me and my pianist weren’t really in sync and that brought down my score. At All-City, my woodwind choir received a division one rating, which is the highest score a group can receive so I was very pleased with that performance. Our flute ensemble got a 2 which wasn’t too bad for our first performance.

At City Contest, the grading goes like this (best to worst scores): 1+, this is a perfect score, reserved for solos only; 1, this is basically a perfect score for ensembles and groups; 2, this is an okay score, but means your music still needs works and more preparations; 3, this is the lowest score at City and is usually reserved for unrehearsed performances. For middle school students, the All-City Contest is a big deal, as it is the only one they will play in for the year. For high school students, All-City is just a rehearsal for the next weekend, which is State.

At State Contest, I did a lot better on my solo and I was very proud of my performance, as was my teacher. The grading at State is similar but it has a larger scale. Performers can’t receive a 1+, but they can get anywhere between a 1 and a 5; 1 being the best and 5 being the worst. Grading at State is also less forgiving. At All-City, judges write down comments and at the end of the performance decided what score they feel the student deserves. At State Contest, points are awarded in the following categories: tone quality, intonation, rhythm, balance and blend, technique, interpretation and musicianship, articulation, and other performance factors such as posture and attire. At the end, the judge totals up the points and gives you a score. The score then determines what division rating you will receive.

I have been playing at the All-City Contest since 7th grade, which makes it my 5th solo. I have decided not to play a solo next year and I’m glad that I ended my last solo performance on a positive note. I will still perform with ensembles and large groups though, which I really enjoy.