KIMEA Solo & Ensemble Festival 2015: Reaching For Platinum
Article: Jessica Ryu
Editor: Grace Oh
Designer: Sarah Cho
Editor: Grace Oh
Designer: Sarah Cho
The KIMEA Solo & Ensemble Festival was held on May 9th this year. It was a chance for students to show their musical skills and perform their practiced pieces. It made many students feel stressed, agitated, but somehow excited too.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to get evaluated by professional judges and enhance your weaknesses and improve your strengths,” said Jio Jeong, an 8th grade violinist. This festival was a great opportunity that gave students a chance to show their musical talent in front of professional judges and get personal feedback on their progress and development as musicians. It always feel fulfilling to receive positive comments about the performance. However, there are so many criteria that a student has to consider to receive those positive comments. The musical aspects judges look forward to are tone quality, intonation, rhythm, technique, musicianship, balance, and blend. Based on the scoring, students receive either Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, or Merit. Everyone gets to keep a participation certificate, with medals additionally given for students who won a Platinum or Gold. However, unlike previous years, instead of getting the results through the paper with the comments written, the results were presented on a television screen which everyone was able to see. “I didn’t practice that much because I was really busy from the 8th grade field trip and from different things I had to do. So, I think I practiced about 8 to 9 hours a week,” said Angela Kim, another violinist. Despite their busy schedules, students made time to practice to reach for their goal. All participants agree, continuous, focused practice is the key to success at KIMEA. Practice is important for every individual soloist, but it is especially necessary for those working as a team. Group ensembles have to cooperate and match with each other to complete a beautiful harmony. For the past few years, most SIS students received a Platinum or Gold, all of them heading home with their medals displayed proudly around their necks. The result they got was all from their ambition to perform well and from their dedication to be fully prepared for the festival. |
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