Bragging again

Well I guess you guys have not seen me on here is some time. My computer seems to have some kind of virus or spyware and will not allow me to access Ferrarichat. It is the only site I cannot get to. When I attempt to bring it up I get what appears to be a Google search page. Weird. and when I click on Ferrarichat it redirects me to a site that bashes F/C. Like I said it is the only site I have difficulty with. I am on a hotel computer in San Antonio now checking emails so I thought I would check out F/C.

Now, about the bragging in the title above. You guys know that my son has been doing pretty well in his music adventures and now I have some more news to pass on. We are in San Antonio where he tried out recently for his chair seating in the Texas All-State Band. After finishing 2nd every competition in the last two years to the same player he finally brought it home here and was picked as the 1st chair tuba player in all Texas high schools. They told him he is the best of the best and has a bright future. TCU, SMU, Texas Tech, UTA and alot of other schools are now making offers. He wants to go to TCU for his bachelors and Indiana University for his masters. We will see how it all works out.

Okay, so I am a proud dad.......but wouldn't you be if your son just earned the title of "The best in Texas"?

 

I got the computer back up. Got off Internet Explorer and added Mozilla Firefox. Voila, here I am........Boy have I missed this site.

Thanks for the good words. We have watched J.J. struggle at home with 2 to 4 hours practice a night to get to where he has gotten so far. It is really amazing to hear people say how lucky someone who succeeds is. If they only knew the hard work and dedication required to be LUCKY. He is really humble about it and has a great teaching spirit and works with all the other players he comes in contact with to help them improve. He tells them that if they are setting their sites on him, they are aiming too low. He continually sets goals and works hard to achieve them and attempts to pass that along to others.

He was asked to join the TCU Brass Ensemble, even though he is still in High School. He practices with them every Tuesday evening and will have a concert with them in April. Hopefully when he auditions for scholarship in a couple of weeks he will do well enough to make TCU affordable for us. Making First Chair All-State has already gotten him some prime consideration from some well recognized schools. Making First Chair All-State in the Band is the equivalent to being named starting quarterback on the Texas All-State Football Team. Lots of colleges take a good look. Man has college gotten expensive, especially the private, non-state supported schools.

We got a few photos while in San Antonio at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) convention where the All-State chair seatings were chosen and the concerts done. I will post them in a following link.

 

Tuba Meister congratulatory sign
Texas All-State Symphony Orchestra-the best players on their instruments in the state
J.J. and his previous private teacher, Wayne Allford, who moved to Centerville last year.
J.J. and Mr. Allford comparing mouthpieces---something that all tuba players seem to do.
J.J. and proud parents, James and Sharon

Can I retract the photos of myself and Sharon??? This camera makes us look at least 15 years older than we actually are, or are we really that old???? Oh, nooooo.....
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We got him this tuba for Christmas and the first competition he played it in was for the chair placement. It seemed to make quite a difference. It is a Meinl-Weston Thor professional model.........We look on it as helping advance his career by getting him the proper tools needed to do the most good. Dentists need the proper equipment, doctors need the best they can get, professional golfers use the best and top notch automobile technicians need the best tools available to give them an advantage. I would not have known it before but his private teacher said that he had reached the maximum performance potential of the school horn that he was playing and would not be able to advance any further without upgrading equipment. We found out that he is only the second high school player in Texas to have one of these and only the Tuba professor at Baylor has one in the professional ranks. It is a new model and apparently a lot of players want them. We have had an offer or two to purchase his but we will not do that.
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If he does, I know that the principal tubist in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and head of the department at SMU wants a Thor tuba and is on the waiting list..............but somehow I do not think he will.

Goals:
Undergraduate degree from TCU studying under Richard Murrow
Masters from Indiana University studying under Dan Perrantone
Doctorate from UNT studying under Don Little

Major in music performance
Minor in music education

Clinician, Performer and principal tubist with a major symphony orchestra.

 

I like it.......He says thanks to all of you who have expressed congratulations to him. He says he will continue on and hopes he can give you more good reports later. He says he knows there a lot of others out there who are excellent players so he cannot afford to let his guard down. He is not letting anything down.........

Monday:
7:15 am private lesson.
8:15 am school starts
3:25 pm school ends
4pm-5:30pm low brass sectionals at Richland High School
6:15pm-8pm TCU low brass ensemble at TCU
Then home to eat, do homework and put in another hour of practice.

Tuesday: Sleep-in day
At school at 7:45
3:25 pm school ends
5:30-6:50pm meet with head of dept at TCU.
Then home to eat, homework and practice

He is out of school all day Wednesday for TAKS testing as seniors do not take them this time. He says I should check on him about noon to see if he is ready to get out of bed yet...............He has earned it.

He has scholarship auditions at UT Arlington this Saturday and TCU next Tuesday

 

Thanks, Farmer Dave.

I am probably more proud of him for his dedication and perseverance than he is. He asks us not to build him up so much to others as it will never allow him the opportunity to make a mistake in public and he tells us "I am not perfect, I just love doing what I do". Maybe I should listen to him more often........wisdom beyond his age........

 

I would love to claim credit for the wisdom he espouses but we all know better than that..........maybe some day I will be able to speak things like that....

 

Okay, here comes the test for him. Tuesday afternoon is his scholarship audition at TCU. The head of the dept has nominated him for the Chancellors Award, the top scholarship in the school. Tomorrow will be a nail biting day. He has missed the last three days of school because his asthma flared up but he seems to be doing much better tonight and says he will be ready for the audition...........If you are led to do so and desire to do so, pray for him. He has worked very hard and I would hate to think that a sudden flareup of his asthma might eliminate him from what he has been working so hard for.

 

Aaarrgh, sticky horn.....

Well he did his audition today. He has been sick with asthma for the last 5 days and today was his first day back in school since last Wednesday. He played well but the first valve on his horn stuck several times. Despite this he still played very well. The tuba professor said he had heard him play enough times that to him it made no difference but the director of all TCU bands was also there and had never heard him play. J.J. was able to stop and fix his horn. The last piece he auditioned on he played flawlessly. Now we have to wait and see just how much influence the tuba professor has on the director of bands.

The director of bands did say that J.J. was an excellent player and he definitely wants him to attend TCU. Now we wait and see just how badly they want him.........scholarship money I mean...........

He is still auditioning at UTA but TCU is the first choice.

 

Believe me Dale, he was putting all he had into it. If he had had his horn operating correctly in The Carniaval of Venice during its 16th note double and tripling tonguing runs he would have knocked their socks off. Most people would not have noticed he was having difficulty with the horn but they are professionals who notice the smallest nuances. The tuba professor was okay with it. I hope the director of bands was able to detect it was a horn problem also and not the player. The last piece was a lyrical ballad that displayed his range and musical ability and he nailed it.................Still waiting............You got a Tums or Rolaids????