I have been singing for as long as I can remember; I always took every opportunity I could get to sing in musicals, talent shows, choirs, and of course in the shower. I never thought singing was something I was any good at until high school. Sure, I knew I wasn't bad, but high school gave me an extra boost of confidence, specifically after participating in the audition process for a state-wide vocal competition.
The Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) hosts an annual All-State concert wherein the best high school choir, orchestra, and band students perform a set of songs that they have been practicing all year. For choir, there are three rounds of auditions: region, pre-area, and area. In my sophomore year, I advanced through the region auditions but was one of the last chairs in pre-area auditions. In my junior year, I again advanced at region, but I was …show more content…
I went to a camp in the summer where we rehearsed the music for about 9 hours every day for 3 days straight. When school started, I stayed late and practiced alone routinely. The region auditions came up, and I knew I was well-prepared. I advanced, as I had the past two years. After region, we had only a month to practice the next set of songs before the pre-area auditions. I continued to work on the music, and went to my choir teacher and asked for advice on technique and musicality. I strived to know every note and rhythm by heart. The day of auditions, I was unexpectedly nervous. It was my senior year, my last year to at least get to area auditions, if not to make the All-State choir. I went into the audition room, sang the cuts to the music, sight read the required eight measures, then waited for the results. About two hours later, they were announced. Only the top five chairs (out of twenty total) got to move on to area auditions. I made third chair! I was elated, but I knew that there now was no time to