Bridgewater-Raritan High School Wind Ensemble students competed at the New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) All-State Band auditions on Saturday, January 18, at J.P. Stevens High School in Edison.
Six Bridgewater-Raritan High School students were selected to participate in the NJMEA All-State Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark on Sunday, February 23.
Those accomplished musicians from the high school are Julian DiMaggio, percussion; Iswer Prasad Harinarayan, percussion; Agastya Shahane, euphonium; James Krempasky, euphonium; Ananth Raman, trumpet; and Fisayo Ogunsulire, trumpet.
Students put practice into perfecting the audition materials for the audition. The audition process was similar to the CJMEA Region Band auditions. It consisted of a scale section, a solo section, and a sight-reading section.
To test a player’s range, the scale section includes playing three scales or sequences of notes in ascending and descending order. The solo section is a soloistic piece one person performs to showcase their musical ability and skill. The sight-reading section tests a player’s accuracy to play on the fly, giving them 30 seconds to study a new piece of music without playing before they have to start and play it through.
Akin to the CJMEA Region Band ensembles, the NJMEA All-State Band ensembles consist of the same two bands: Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble. The higher-ranked students at the auditions are placed into the Wind Ensemble, and the rest of the accepted students are placed into the Symphonic Band.
Both bands are a challenging task to place into, and doing so is an outstanding achievement. However, this audition does differ from the CJMEA audition process.
In the CJMEA Region Band auditions, students from all over the region can audition. There are three region bands in New Jersey, with Region I being the North, Region II or CJMEA Region Band being Central Jersey, and Region III being South Jersey.
To even gain a chance at auditioning for the NJMEA All-State Bands, one has to be placed into one of the three Region Bands. This narrows the audition pool and picks the best out of the best high school band players.
Julian DiMaggio, a senior, commented on the audition experience.
“Even though preparing for the audition is a lengthy process, it is always amazing to see the work pay off and earn a spot in one of these bands,” he said.
The students will have their first reading rehearsal on Monday, February 3. Then, they will perform in their concert on February 23 at NJPAC in Newark.
