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Sound off! CCMS students bring their best to Solo Festival

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

They practiced their eighth notes and sustaining their tone; they turned their instruments for solos and counted out the timing on duets; then, Charles City Middle Schoolers took a deep breath and entered the band or choir room. It wasn’t about performance pressure for band students at the Solo Festival on Tuesday. It was about the experience.

“We’re not competing, we’re just striving for self-improvement,” band director Renee Boss said as students polished last-minute details on horns and clarinets.

About 70 seventh and eighth grade students prepared solos for judges Brian Stevens and Beth Frenchick, who listened patiently and shared feedback following each performance –– including all sorts of tricks from staying in time to anticipating the next phrase.

Students like seventh grader Rebecca Boyd, a percussionist with a snare drum solo who practiced “The New Military” for a couple of months ahead of Tuesday. Boyd liked that the song reminded her of her grandpa, who served in the military, and how accomplished band class makes her feel after a group performance.

“Even though we talk during practice and all that, we can come out and impress everybody even though we’re just seventh and eighth graders,” Boyd said. “We can sound like we’re a high school band.”

For Boyd, it feels a little different –– actually, a little nerve-wracking –– to face the solo judge alone. But in the end, it’s important for her to see how her skills are developing.

“Solo festival is really fun because you get to see what level you are, and how you can push yourself,” Boyd said. “I try to take a deep breathe and calm my nerves. If that doesn’t help, I just try to roll with it.”

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