Mark

I've never posted on our family blog before, so I decided it's about time.  I had a pretty interesting experience today and decided it was as good of a story as any, so here I go:

As most of you know, I play the cello and am currently attending BYU.  This semester, I auditioned for the Symphonic Orchestra and was accepted.  It is the preparatory orchestra for the Philharmonic Orchestra, BYU's top symphonic group.  It has been a lot of fun, it pushes me to work hard and focus on the music, as well as the music being very fun to play.  This weekend BYU hosted the CODA Conference, a national, annual conference for student conductors from around the country.  One of the culminating events of the conference was a competition/workshop for several graduate conducting students.  There were five involved, from Baylor U, Florida State, U of Florida, West Texas A&M, and one from our very own BYU (I played under him in the University Orchestra last semester).  Each had about twenty minutes to direct us, the Symphonic Orchestra, on several pieces that both parties had been rehearsing over the semester.  The director of the conference, a professor from back east (I don't remember his name), and Keith Lockhart (director of the Boston Pops and Utah Symphony) gave critique and tips on each candidates performance.  As a member of the orchestra, I was privileged to sit and listen to all of the points these men gave.  It was very cool to see and hear some of the nation's top directors teaching how to direct on a very personal level.  For a few brief moments, Mr. Lockhart directed us to demonstrate a certain technique, so in a way, I can say I've played under one of America's top directors 🙂 .  At the end of the instruction, each student candidate was given an opportunity to lead the orchestra through a full movement that was being recorded.  That was fun to be part of a full orchestra recording session.

There was however, one glitch in the program that added to the experience.  All semester the orchestra had been preparing to play the Hadyn Symphony No. 101, while the student conductors had been preparing to conduct the Haydn Symphony No. 104!  So, the orchestra had to sight-read the Symphony No. 104, that none of us had ever seen before!  It was especially exciting during the recording session, because we were being recorded on music that we had never played before.  It ended up going quite smoothly, we all played pretty well, and the visiting directors and professors had quite high praise for us.

Anyway, it was a great experience as a musician to see another aspect of one of the necessary parts of a performance.  It was very fun, and I learned about how to conduct and how to better follow the conductor.  Thanks for reading my first blog entry.

Mark got his mission call today to serve two years as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Texas San Antonio Mission, Spanish Speaking.  He'll enter the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on May 7, 2007.  Mark had four years of Spanish in High School, so he is excited that he will be able to use his Spanish.  He also is glad he is going somewhere that is humid (he misses Florida!) and doesn't get very cold!

As unbelievable as it seems, Mark graduates today from high school (not unbelievable because I thought he wouldn't, but because it seems like the time has gone so fast!).  Mark graduated 6th in his class, received an Academy diploma, and was honored at Lone Peak's recognition night as the Outstanding Orchestra Student. 

We are very proud of Mark and all he has accomplished.  He received a full tuition scholarship to Brigham Young University, where he will be attending school in the fall.  Mark plans on attending school for a year, before leaving to go on his mission.

Mark received his acceptance letter from BYU the day after his 18th birthday.  He has another semester of high school left, and he needs to keep his grades up for possible scholarship opportunities, but he can breathe a little easier knowing that his first big grown-up hurdle is over.  He's going to the university of his choice!