Myers Park prides itself on having an extremely talented student body. Whether it’s basketball, swim & dive, or speech & debate, we always show up and make our mark in any competition. In early March, The MP orchestra proved they are no exception to this when Mr. Freeman conducted them to straight Superiors (the highest scores possible) at North Carolina’s Music Performance Adjudication (MPA).
The MPA, which orchestra director Freeman refers to as “the gold standard in the state for performing arts assessment,” typically consists of the performance of 2-3 rehearsed pieces followed by the sight reading of a new work, both in front of a panel of 4 judges. Based on their performance and the difficulty of the piece, they are allotted 1-5 points, 1 being highest and 5 being lowest. A Superior is achieved when a 1 overall score is received from the judges. “Technically, you only have to get two judges to give you the higher ranking and they’ll take that.” Freeman explains. “So say you get two twos and two ones, they’ll give you the one overall… So then the highest score is called a Superior and there’s a difference between having two twos and two ones with a Superior as opposed to getting all ones which is where the term Straight Superior comes in, all four judges gave you a one.”
He was humble in admitting that our two competing groups, one performing pieces of the highest difficulty, got Straight Superiors, making us one of the only groups from our area to achieve such an accomplishment. However, a senior orchestra member and 7-year cellist, Abby Barton, acknowledges this feat wasn’t a surprise. With after-school rehearsals and intricate pieces, Barton says, “It is more commitment than last year but we definitely saw it pay off and we can even tell the difference in class when we’re rehearsing… It’s so rewarding to hear us all come together in the end to create a quality piece of music that we can be proud of.”
Barton explains that another element of their success was their growth as a whole unit and how much they have improved their ability to play as a group. Freeman also stresses this idea of cooperation, expressing, “Everybody has to at least understand how to work with the people around them in order to make, in our case, the music happen.” He goes on to say, “One of the biggest things people need to learn in life is how to get along with other people. The performing arts in particular, if you can’t get along with the people sitting around you it’s not going to happen and it’s so obvious.”
Freeman believes collaboration is one of the most important skills we learn in school. In other classes, teachers might encourage group work to better understand the content, but in orchestra class, the content is group work. He explains that in a typical class day, while individual performance is important, the group sound is more pressing. Instead of tests, this music-based class opts for performances meaning your success in class is based on how well you work with the group. Freeman notes, ¨As we get closer to the concerts it’s less about the “oh do you know your notes and rhythms?” it becomes more about, not only do you know your part, but again going back to collaboration. Do you know what’s going on on the other side of the room? Do you know your part and do you understand how the other parts interact with yours?”
While there isn’t a beginner’s orchestra class at the Park currently, Mr. Freeman encourages anyone interested in the musical arts to stop in and check it out. Barton notes, “Orchestra offers a unique opportunity to constantly collaborate with peers while building skills that just couldn’t be learned elsewhere.”