Saturday was Kenosha’s Solo and Ensemble competition – and I was about to say that it’s one of the only times all year when I feel like a track star, with perpetual running from room to room all day long. That’s how it used to be, but the schedule is now done with some sort of computer program which tends to place the piano accompanists in one room for hours on end. In my case, for instance, I played for 15 things (shhh- the limit is supposed to be 12) and 9 of them were in room 104. So as an aerobic workout, this competition was a bust for me . . . but in nearly every other way it was great fun. Most of my accompaniments are played for singers from Tremper, where Polly is the director, and she is an absolute genius at organizing things- so she had everything listed and highlighted and ordered right down to the last detail and all I had to do was show up and play and have fun. AND get paid for it. What could be better than that?
Polly actually had a far more hectic day than I did, playing for a few of her own students and of course wanting to see and hear as many of them perform as possible. . . so the day is a track meet for her much more than for me. She is also engaged for much of the day – as are her colleagues and counterparts – in cajoling, comforting, encouraging her students and coaxing the best performances from them that they are capable of delivering. Of course, contest day is not quite the same for her as when she was at Bullen Middle School and her students really needed their hands held to a much greater deal. Then again, even those Bullen students- young as they were- had been solidly prepared for the day and were remarkably poised for being so young. But a big reason why they could be so poised and assured was that they knew their teacher would be there. (My wife has very much the same effect on her kids at Schulte before a big concert. She runs a tight ship and takes no crap from anyone- excuse my french- but she also makes it fun and helps the kids realize that they’re going to be just fine.)
Anyway, one of the joys I have at contest is watching my sister-in-law in action, doing what she does so very very well. It’s an intense and demanding day, but she gives off these unmistakable vibes that everything is going to be okay and that she is there for the kids if anything goes awry. (If someone’s accompanist is MIA or the judge’s copy of their music is mislaid, she’s on the case- perhaps the best problem solver I have ever known. ) But almost more important than all of that, Polly is a teacher who really, genuinely cares about her students and she wants each and every one of them to have a good experience. So she is genuinely thrilled when a student hits it out of the park, and especially when a given singer exceeds both her expectations and their own and sings better than they ever have in their lives. And she also genuinely grieves with the kid who gets a III — or the kid who’s disqualified for inadvertently breaking some rule — or sadly, when a kid gets a III in one event and is disqualified in the other, which happened Saturday. Ouch. But she also knows better than many do that this is not primarily about earning a I or a II or a III. It’s about making music and doing the best you can and learning and growing no matter what the rating turns out to be. It’s about finding a way to tell a student that they should have worked harder and you hope that they will And it’s also about those moments when a singer sings so very well – and you as the teacher are brought to tears. That happened Saturday with an especially gifted and sweet singer who moved Polly to tears. I know the feeling; it seems like just yesterday that Trevor was singing his final recital at Carthage and I was playing the last song on the program – Schubert’s heartbreaking “Der Leiermann” – and bawling like a baby. Wonderful music and music-making can do that, especially when coupled with the intense emotional depth that so often is a part of the student / teacher dynamic. I’m actually reminded of a moment from the last couple of days which I actually didn’t witness with my own eyes but which Kathy did. When our friend Dan Ihasz returned from Carthage Friday afternoon after the master class, he started telling Kathy about how great everything went and what a neat experience it was for him, and the next thing she knew he was crying. And this wasn’t even a moment where he was talking about a beloved student with whom he has worked for years. This was just reflecting on a master class where Dan was working with students that he had never even seen until two days before/ basically complete strangers. But music is one of those human ventures where we are connecting with each other in especially profound and meaningful ways- and that’s why music is one of the best things that this life has to offer.
pictured: Polly at contest with John Nepper, the really fine band director at Bullen Middle School (where Polly used to teach.)