Validation, Part 3

Just a quick post this morning to say yeah, I'm alive and well...just busy as always and not a lot of note to post about recently (though I would have done one last night if Blogger hadn't been down for a few hours).

Last night was Phase II of All-Region Band, and it turned out great; all but one person that I sent there actually made the band. I have two going to Area--a senior (expected; he's been there before) and a freshman (wow!). Even though that means I have to listen to those dreaded three etudes for another month, it's obviously worth it if someone gets into State. I had said in the past that the strong finish by my students made me feel validated in the way I do things, but this one was, in a way, even more special. The 4-out-of-5 at Region Jazz was awesome, of course, but (within all modesty) almost expected, because I think I'm really good at teaching jazz...yet many times, these same people and others would go to the "legit" auditions and get buried. I vowed to be better in my approach to that, and I guess it's working. It's not as easy sometimes to motivate saxophonists to play classical, just because 1) the opportunity to make a meaningful living playing classical saxophone is almost nil, and 2) jazz is just so much more fun. But this year, it turned out well on both fronts.