The\nTexas A&M University – Kingsville music department roars with talent when\nit comes to recognizing the accomplishment of Oscar Lara and Emily Mu\u00f1oz earning a solo during the Annual\nConcerto Competition. Each year students are given the opportunity to\ndemonstrate their hard-work and dedication for a chance to earn a special spotlight\nduring a performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year on Jan. 23,\nstudents competed in the Recital Hall found in the Music Building. Winners of\nthe Concerto Competition will then be given an opportunity to shine on April 14,\nduring the Chamber Orchestra concert and Choir Concert. The event consisted of\nseveral rounds before a winner is finalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe event has a\nfew rounds, that begins on the day of juries, then goes to a final round where\nselect players will play again for a panel of judges and they choose from those\nin the final round to either play with the orchestra or band depending on how\nmany winners there are. I say that it\u2019s pretty competitive\u2026but maybe it was\njust because I was nervous. My experience with the event was positive but it\ndefinitely was very nerve wracking!\u201d said Jeri Taylor, former winner of the Concert\nCompetition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students were given\nabout a year to practice for the audition, and showcase their hard work and\npreparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen my professor, Dr. Janzen showed me the\npiece I fell in love with it and had to have it. When school ended in the\nspring (2018) I bought the piece online and immediately started practicing it.\nIt was a really hard piece for me at the time so what I did was, every single\nmorning I would eat breakfast and would then take my flute out to practice. I\nwould spend about five hours practicing small sections until I eventually\nmemorized them without even trying. Whenever I would get tired I would watch TV\nbut I still had my flute out and when commercials came out I would practice\nthose small sections that I had trouble with. Then, after my \u2018break\u2019 I would\npractice from around 4 p.m. through 11 p.m. I would do this every single day,\nall day until summer classes started, but by then I had already learned the\nwhole piece and had practically memorized it as well. Even then, I would\npractice it as much as I could because I loved it and it made me fall in love\nwith playing music again,\u201d said Mu\u00f1oz, recipient soloist of Concerto Competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mu\u00f1oz\u2019s dedication\npaid off when results were posted. She competed against six other flute\nmusicians and was able to gain recognition for her skills. After practicing for\nlong hours her commitment to thrive in the competition was rewarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI couldn’t believe\nit. To be completely honest, I don’t see myself as a good player and\ntechnically that isn’t a way that a performance major should see themselves as.\nWhen I won I thought I was dreaming; to this day, I still can’t believe that I\nwon, but I’m really happy and I feel really blessed,\u201d Mu\u00f1oz said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lara was another who\ncouldn\u2019t believe his accomplishment in earning a solo. Lara was the only vocalist\namongst the top 10 finalists. Being able to accomplish this goal allowed Lara to\nreignite his passion for music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have practiced the piece I auditioned with for about a year, it’s\nstill nowhere near perfect since my voice is still changing, though. However, I\nam honestly very excited to sing with the orchestra, this is what I want to do\nfor the rest of my life so it’s like getting a feel for what’s to come.\nAccomplishing this goal honestly sort of saved my music career. Lately I’ve\nbeen juggling so much at once that I forgot I had a passion for music and\nputting so much time and effort into the competition reignited my passion,\u201d\nsaid Lara, recipient soloist of Concerto Competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For\nmany music students, a competition like this requires time management and\ndedication. Hours were invested into practicing, and the hard-work of Lara and Mu\u00f1oz will be publicly recognized during their\nsolo performance on April 14 at Jones Auditorium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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