10.10.04
Bobbin!
So, my All State audition was yesterday. Mom and I drove off to Cordele at around 8:oo in the morning. It took us about two hours to get there, and we had to drive through just about every backwater town in Georgia to get to Cordele. I think the welcome sign for the town should be "Welcome to Cordele: The Asscrack of Georgia."
So we drove around for a while and found Crisp County High School in an open field somewhere. Wouldn't you like to go to a high school called Crisp County High? That's just fun to say. But anyway, I got my fun audition forms that the judges use and found out my audition time was five minutes ago, but nobody really follows those things anyway. You can be scheduled to audition at 3:00 in the afternoon and be able to go at 9:00 am if you stand close enough to the doors of the audition hall. I found my way to the waiting area for high school soprano and alto auditioners after navigating through large crowds of middle-schoolers and nervous-looking tenors and basses, then sat down at the rows of plastic chairs, waiting for the man to poke his head through the large double doors and ask for an 11th-12th grade soprano. There were girls all over the place; some were singing "Eileen Aroon" under their breath, and others were talking nervously to one another about how these auditions never get any easier. I sang through all the scales I knew to refresh my memory, including minor melodic and harmonic, even though we weren't being tested on those. You never know if the sight reading is going to include a rogue "si" or, God forbid, a "fi."
So I sat waiting, mumbling scales under my breath, until the stout, balding man with a light lisp making a strange contrast to his thick southern accent poked his head through the double doors and asked if any of us had any audition times before 10:30. I waved my audition papers and said yes, so he took me through the double doors to the audition hall. The hall was long, and the end of it was hard to see. The walls were strung with doors to the very end of the hall, decorated with bright yellow signs reading "Panel 22," "Panel 23," and so forth. Next to each door stood a very nervous girl, digging her sandals into the carpet, staring at the door, or mumbling through scales and solos. The man led me to a door that was not occupied, and I stood at my station. I stood in wait, watching the other girls around me. Some of the doors opened, and either a girl walked inside or another left it. A girl in the room in front of me peeked around the door and asked someone if they had a copy of "Eileen Aroon" because she hadn't brought any music for herself. If you don't bring accompaniment for your solo, you are automatically disqualified. That girl must have been auditioning for the first time, because no experienced All-Stater goes to an audition without music. The girl standing at her door gave her the CD she was holding. I waited at my door for what seemed like hours until it opened suddenly, and a fellow soprano exited. I began to walk in, but the judges waved me out, as they were discussing the previous girl's audition. I stood outside of the door patiently, deciding that no matter what I got, it was going to be over soon, and I wouldn't have to stress about the first audition anymore.
Finally, the door opened, and one of the judges welcomed me inside. I handed over the evaluation papers and my music CD, then stood behind the podium that had been set up in front of them. The two judges were both women and luckily very friendly. On the podium, there were two pieces of paper lying face down with "SOPRANO" written on one and "ALTO" written on the other. The two judges were sitting behind a table in front of me; a large stereo sat to the right of them, a smaller one to their left for my music. First were my scales, of course. The judge on my right asked me what key, and I told her middle C, mainly because I couldn't remember my most comfortable range key. She played a middle C for me, and I focused on the marker board behind them. I sang the major, minor, and chromatic scales back-to-back and flaw-free. Next was my solo. The judge turned on my music, and I sang "Eileen Aroon" with ease; I know that song cold because I've been using it as my solo for three years. Next, tonal memory: there were four pieces I had to sing back. They were surprisingly not as back as I had expected. I believe I only messed up on the last pitch of the fourth piece, but this is hard to know for sure because tonal memory is extremely easy to forget. You can think you are completely off and be perfectly right in turn.
Lastly was sight-reading, the part I was most nervous about. I turned over the paper marked "SOPRANO" and found my three pieces of music I was to sing out loud without a guide. The first pitch was played for each, I could practice them for thirty seconds, and then I had to sing them back without making a mistake. The first piece was in major, the second minor, and the third major as well, but much more difficult. I ended up tripping a little bit over each one, but the third was the most difficult: it had two dotted eighths and two measures worth of sixteenths. And that is very hard to sight read in thirty seconds. After the audition, I walked out of the room and left the hall.
So, at 8:45 that night, I called Mrs. Vinson about my score. She had them all so soon because she was a judge at the auditions too. I was worried about my score because of the sight reading, so I felt like I had gotten a 13 or 14 or something. I called her, and she told my I had gotten a 12. I felt so relieved! Not as good as last year, but definitely All-State-making material. It's two points away from perfect. I feel so much better now; I don't have to worry about that first audition ever again. The second one will be a snap.
Something fantastic happened today. I went over to Kalan's house to work on my Senior Project with his mother, and he and Mrs. Vazquez gave me a sewing machine! Not a used one, now--they had gone out an bought me a Singer sewing machine! I could hardly believed it. Sewing machines, especially Singers, are not cheap at all. I thanked them about a thousand times while I was there. I love it to death; I can't wait to start using it. It'll make sewing dolls together a lot faster. Thank you so much, Kalan! Tell your mom I said thanks again. You guys are too nice to me! Mrs. Vazquez also gave me a ton more stuff for my dolls, including paints, really nice paint brushes, cloth, and the patterns of my next doll. I am so grateful to her for giving me all of this stuff; she doesn't have to, but she does anyway, and I really appreciate it. Thanks again!
Well, at some point I've got to do my French homework, so I may as well do it now. I am not looking forward to going to school tomorrow; I want to play with my sewing machine.
† Anonymous
at 8:23 PM
‡
