By Jewel Marie
The lights on my face. The chairs in place. My horn in hand. Years in the making and it all leads up to this moment.
It’s one thing when you’ve done band for years to get up on the stage you’re so used to playing on. To the typical band student it’s basically second-nature. It’s another thing when you haven’t played an instrument in the last four years.
Playing the French Horn means a lot to me, and that’s why doing well at my (second) first concert was important to do right.
One of the highlights of McPherson’s band program is that there’s a lot of scholarship potential. I unfortunately have no scholarships in the band and I’m okay with that. I came back for the sole purpose of having fun with my instrument again and that’s been enough for me.
The atmosphere in college has been nothing but good to me and because of that, they have encouraged me to not only do my best but play well and do what I need to practice my instrument and relearn how to properly play in a band.
“I think it’s great that she has found a new passion for being in band, and I know she’ll do great in it with their previous experience,” Colby High School band director and former McPherson band student Valick Sorter said.
I started band in fifth grade, but back then I was always set on playing the violin. Me being a kid, that’s all I’d ever ask about. I did had the occasional questions on what a viola was. Then came the day we got to test instruments out and I tried the trumpet for the first time ever.
It was fun!
From there I scrapped my old notion of playing one of those old-fangled string instruments and put spit to valve.
After around two years of trumpet, I used my experience to switch over to playing the horn in late sixth grade. The French horn quickly became my favorite instrument due to its deep and beautiful sound.
I always liked to do solos in middle school with both trumpet and horn – it was scary but every time I finished a solo, I always wanted to put myself out there one more time.
Solo performances made me feel important. That along with being in the band gave me what feel like a purpose.
When going into high school I fell out of that solo craze and became more anxious because of the stress of marching band, because it took out the fun in band with the long schedules, and marching in blazing heat or freezing winds.
People in band (or – as commonly stereotyped – band kids) bullied and made me lose confidence to the point where, along with the stress of marching band, I eventually dropped out of band altogether after my sophomore year of high school.
I am now a junior in college. I struggled with the motivation and courage to play again but thanks to the support of director Kyle Hopkins, I was able to come back and enjoy the band one more time.
If it weren’t for Hopkins making an effort to help me out and rent me a French Horn to practice, I might not be back in band right now.
If there’s anything to take away from my story, it’s never too late to get back into something you truly enjoy. It’s also worth it to try something that’s always looked interesting but you’ve never tried before. You don’t have to be perfect or better than somebody else, you just have to be yourself and enjoy every moment of whatever it is you choose to do.
