On the afternoon of March 8, the lower commons were filled with discord noises from different instruments. Parkway Central was hosting the Solo & Ensemble Festival again this year.
The Solo & Ensemble festival is a performance activity sponsored by the St. Louis Suburban Music Educators Association and is combined with MSHSAA. All music students are eligible to participate. They can choose to do solo or small ensembles, in groups of duos, trios, or quartets within their instrument families.
Students will receive a rating for their performance, ranging from one to five. If the students get a one rating, meaning exemplary, they qualify to go to state solo and ensemble festivals.
Band director and music department leader, Doug Hoover, who has taught at Parkway Central for more than 40 years, said that Parkway Central has hosted for nine years. He listed numerous advantages of hosting. The second semester is a busy time for student musicians to travel and perform, so hosting at Central helps students miss less days of school. It also allows more flexibility for students.
“Our musical athletes can be assigned times after practice is over, then we’re not conflicting with practices either. Our facilities are not set up to host the full orchestras or the full bands, but by spreading it out, we’re able to host everybody with a minimum amount of impact,” Hoover said. “And I don’t want to ignore the fact we do make a little money on it, which offset some of the costs we have for large groups [traveling], it’s probably the cherry on top.”
For the musicians, the festival means a big time commitment. Students from choir, band, and orchestra prepared their performance months in advance. Senior Cameron Stecher, who is a member of the jazz band and symphonic band, described his practice routine for his French horn solo.
“At the beginning when I first picked out my piece, [I practiced] probably a few hours per week. Then that kind of slowed down a little bit,” Stecher said. “And towards the last two, three weeks, I really ramped it up.”
Hoover said students are given class time to practice their pieces, however, they are mostly on their own in preparation for the performance. Many students practiced with their accompanists during Academic Lab. Freshman Dwaraka Kumar, a member of the concert orchestra, said his accompanist junior Asher Koh helped him with his violin solo.
“He [Koh] helped with some phrasing bits, like musicality and tone stuff,” Kumar said. “And helped me focus on what to improve on.”
The music teachers also give feedback to the students on their piece. In concert choir, sophomore Kiera Anderson-Pittman attributed choir director Ben Silvermintz as her biggest helper.
“He listened to me when I practiced a lot of times, so he picked out certain things that I wouldn’t even think [of],” Anderson-Pittman said. “Dynamics-wise, some parts where I could have maybe added volumes for different phrases, or it’s more interesting if I quiet it down here.”
Kumar and Anderson-Pittman both performed in both solo and ensemble, and they received exemplary ratings for all of their performances. Kumar said he enjoys ensemble more, but it comes with its challenges.
“You have to be coordinated a lot more. Also in the judges feedback, I could tell you that the cello had to play a higher C sharp, which is pretty specific,” Kumar said. “That’s really important when it comes to ensembles; you always have to focus on the little details.”
As the students head to the state Solo & Ensemble Festival, they hold rather different attitudes. Stecher, who competed in the state last year, felt confident in his performance.
“Last year really gave me a lot of confidence,” Stecher said. “Going out of my solo this year, I was like ‘Yeah, I definitely got a one or two’.”
For Anderson-Pittman, who got an outstanding rating last year, it is exciting to perform at state. One thing she improved upon is understanding the wording of her piece.
“One of my songs is from The Pirates of Penzance, and it’s a story about how this nursery maid sent her charge to apprentice a pirate instead of a pilot,” Anderson-Pittman said. “It’s pretty funny. I think looking more into the story helped me emote with the music better, which definitely made my performance better.”
Compared to last year’s solo & ensemble festival, junior Hannah Mathew noticed there were a lot more competitors. As a musician herself, who plays both cello and piano, she was glad to see more people appreciating music.
“It’s really hard to get people to get attracted to these competitions,” Mathew said. “Last year, we didn’t reach that limit for Parkway Central, but this year, we overshot and I’m actually happy about that.”
According to Hoover, the music department students managed most of the festival. The students monitor the competition rooms, work as runners and greeters, and volunteer at concession stands.
“Our students are very, very good,” Hoover said. “And we get complimented all the time about the caliber of kids we have working for us.”
To Hoover, the festival is more than the sound of music–it’s also about the people. He enjoys watching the musicians from different schools interact during the festival.
“I’m a good people watcher. I like to watch the interaction between the soloist, their directors and their parents,” Hoover said. “I find the dynamic between different schools interesting. Every school has their own personality.”
Overall, Mathew believes music is a growth experience. She believes the participants used this festival to develop their musical skills as well as bond with each other over passion for music.
“I hope that a lot of other high school students will join the music department. So they can enjoy those same moments and grow as a musician,” Mathew said, “because that’s ultimately what solo and ensemble is for.”
