DHS musicians named to all-state band

PHOTO: Clarinet player Wooyong Jung was one of the three selected for the All-State band.

By Sean Campbell

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Three musicians from Davis High’s band program, junior clarinet players Cyan Ding and Wooyung Jung and senior french horn player Hannah Fox, have been selected for the California Band Directors Association All-State Honor Bands.

“To make the all-state bands means that you are the best in the state of California, which is the most populous state in the country,” DHS band director Thomas Slabaugh said. “It’s really the cream of the crop.”

To apply for the all-state band, students had to submit recordings of themselves playing both scales and pieces of music to be reviewed by a panel of judges. The audition music was made available in August. Performances took place from Feb. 1-4, but the recordings were due on Nov. 1, one month earlier than last year.

“It was definitely challenging,” Jung said. “There was a lot of setting time aside every week, every day to practice the music and make sure my recordings were as good as they could be.”

The process was even more difficult for Jung because it was his first year playing clarinet at the high school, after playing the harpsichord, a piano-like instrument, for last year’s Baroque Orchestra. 

“I kept playing and practicing pretty sufficiently while I was in orchestra so it wasn’t that hard to get back on the instrument this year,” Jung said. “It was more of a challenge to play in an ensemble again, since its hard to get that without actually doing it, but that didn’t come into play for the auditions.”

Despite what would seem to be a setback, Jung qualified for the most prestigious all-state band, the Wind Symphony. This year, Fox was selected as a member of the Concert Band, while Ding played for the Golden State Band.

As an athlete and senior, Fox had multiple things on her plate, but still qualified for the all-state band. “I played on the tennis team last fall (when all-state auditions were due), so it was pretty hard to balance sports, homework, college applications and music,” she said. “I had to manage my time efficiently and communicate.”

Even after extensive practicing and preparation, Ding was not expecting to get accepted. “Getting into (all-state) honor band had been a long term goal for me, and after applying last year and not getting in, it was something I was really looking forward to,” he said.

To supplement daily individual practice, all three DHS selections used weekly private, outside-of-school tutoring sessions to prepare for the audition.

“The group of band students I have this year is one of the most hard-working I’ve ever had,” said Slabaugh, who has been a band director for over 30 years. “Hard work breeds talent.”

While Slabaugh doesn’t always have a direct impact on the application process, he uses his knowledge as an honor band judge for more than 20 years to help DHS students prepare.

“Having a lot of experience on both sides of an audition, I am able to help the kids avoid common mistakes I see a lot,” Slabaugh said. “I also answer any questions the students may have and listen to their final recordings, but most of the practice takes place individually or with a private tutor.”

Once at the all-state event that started on Feb. 1, the students auditioned yet again, this time for chair placements. After this second round of auditions, Jung managed to solidify his position as the 7th ranked clarinet player in California.

“It is an intense experience,” Slabaugh said. “It is the closest experience to being a professional musician outside of being a professional musician.”

Intense is an understatement. The musicians were already expected to know their parts and to have practiced them individually beforehand, so as soon as chair placements were decided, the groups immediately began rehearsal.

“The only break from those rehearsals is food and to go to bed,” Slabaugh said.

For the Wind Symphony, the performance was the next day, Feb. 2, with the other performances spread over the 3rd and 4th.

The short turnaround and lack of time to get to know the other ensemble members presented new challenges to students who are accustomed to group rehearsal four times a week for the high school.

“It is always hard to adjust to new people since we’ve never played together before, especially with only three days to make it performance ready,” Fox said. “It requires a lot of close listening and understanding of balance and intonation.” But all of the hard work paid off when they looked into the crowd.

“After our performance, with the lights on us, the feeling was indescribable,” Jung said. “It was the culmination of so many hours of work, and it was the end of an amazing experience.”

Despite none of the three honor band selections planning on pursuing music as a career, they all hope to continue with music for the rest of their lives.

“No matter what, I’m going to keep playing guitar, probably for the rest of my life,” Fox said. “I am interested in possibly joining an ensemble sometime in the future.”

“I don’t plan on quitting,” Ding said. “I hope to continue to make music in college in my free time and just keep having fun with it.”

“Music is something that I am always able to go to, and hopefully I can continue to participate in it,” Jung said. “Wherever I go there is always going to be some community or group that plays music, which I will definitely consider joining.”