After being selected by the Missouri Music Educators Association, part of the Ladue band and orchestra went to Osage Beach, Mo. Jan. 24-25 to perform. Both the band and orchestra started preparing for MMEA in August and put extra practice into perfecting their music pieces.
“I come in and practice during seminar and lunch on blue days,” junior and violist Ashley Osborn said.Since the orchestra
started preparing for the performance in August, it has the affected the amount of new music pieces they learn. Specifically, for MMEA, four pieces were selected for the symphonic and chamber orchestra. When selecting music to perform, the band and orchestra must keep in mind the strict time limit set by MMEA.
“Normally we play the same [music pieces] up until our first concert, then after that concert we get new pieces and we practice those until our next concert,” Osborn said. “This time we didn’t get any new pieces and we played the same pieces until MMEA.”
Although band and orchestra perform separately, the selection process is almost identical. A concert recording is submitted to MMEA by the directors and then a panel of judges select a few different schools to perform. However, the symphonic and chamber orchestra are in the selection pool with groups other than high school orchestras.
“There are so many fewer orchestra programs in the state that they are competing against community groups. For [band] it’s high school bands across the board,” director of bands Aaron Lehde said.
The performance is not a competition but rather a concert where the audience is mostly high school band and orchestra directors. There is also no ranking among the schools performing but there is more pressure on the students to perform well with so many directors watching them.
“There will be about 1000 high school band directors listening and I tell [the band students] it’s different than playing for your mom and dad,” Lehde said.
For the students and directors, it is considered an honor to be selected to perform at MMEA. Schools aren’t allowed to perform every year but being consistently invited back every few years is a reflection on the directors and students’ performance.
“It’s an honor for the teachers and it’s good for their career,” junior and violist Lisa Miller said.
