Nineteen musicians were accepted into the Central Districts Ensemble after a rigorous audition process, proving themselves as top performers among their peers.
Students who were chosen for the ensemble will perform on Jan. 18 at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. These musicians prepared and performed a piece along with a brief sight-reading exercise and were scored by judges, and those with high enough scores received the honor of playing at Districts. From there, 11 Algonquin students who scored within the top 50% of accepted students have the opportunity to audition for the All-State Concert Ensemble, which performs at the historic Symphony Hall in Boston.
According to both those who auditioned and the teachers advising them, preparing for the audition is difficult; however, the music teachers help students prepare and feel comfortable.
“My job is to get them resources to be successful,” choir director Olivia Goliger said. “I make diction tracks, I send recordings as well as accompaniment tracks. I put together sight reading packets as well as practicing those skills in class.”
Returning students receive the music they perform at auditions before they leave for summer break, while new students receive the audition music the first week of school. The audition process tests musicians’ abilities to play scales, sight read and perform a solo piece.
Junior violinist Aaron Wu made the Central Districts ensemble for the third time this year. He has been a member of the All-State Concert Ensemble for the past two years and has qualified to audition this year.
“Generally the pieces are not super complex, but if you want to be competitive you have to take this rather boring piece and refine it,” Wu said. “It takes a lot of mental willpower.”
Based on their audition scores, in addition to Aaron Wu, seniors Evan Morgan, Maria Nagaria and Ben Kahn; sophomores Sedra Alani, Nick Morgan, Anthony Wu, Amy Li and Jimmy Provencal; and freshman Leo Deng received an All-State recommendation.
Due to the highly competitive nature of the audition process, earning high scores is a challenge but also a rewarding experience.
“I listened to the piece hundreds of times,” senior violist Michael Genest said. “I knew I could do it; it was more of tricking my brain into knowing I could do it.”
Band director Eric Vincent believes students benefit from the experiences of auditioning for Districts.
“Whether you score the highest or completely bomb the audition, both experiences are valuable,” Vincent said. “You learn from both experiences. It’s about seeing what you’re up against, what’s expected and what it takes to succeed.”
Sophomore trombonist Nick Morgan said the process has given him the confidence for future opportunities.
“I think it opens up doors,” Morgan said. “[Making Districts shows] that I’m good enough as a trombone player to maybe get scholarships.”
Both Districts and competing at a high level can lead students on paths to a future in music.
“Some students will go off to college as music majors and become professional musicians, but many won’t,” Vincent said. “Still those skills—working hard, being responsible and getting rewarded for that hard work—are transferable to anything in life.”
Senior alto singer Maria Nagaria believes that students that haven’t had luck in the past getting into the District ensemble should give it another go.
“If you don’t do well one year, there’s a next one,” Nagaria said. “Just try your best and see what happens because the actual opportunity to sing in those choirs is so much fun, so if you do well you only get an amazing thing out of it.”
