Mum drove me all the way to Caringbah to audition. I had to prepare a song to play on my trumpet and had to be able to play a C major scale. After the audition and a whole night of waiting my mum received an email saying “Congratulations!” and from that moment on I started my fun journey representing Stanmore Public School.
Next I had my first rehearsal at Caringbah North Public School and realized there were 100 students in the group! I was very nervous but ended up having the best time. A little while later there was a three day camp, and we had tutors to help us with the 15 songs we had to learn, and at the end of the camp we had a concert for the parents. After many more rehearsals, and a lot of practicing, we finally reached the time to perform at the Sydney Opera House as part of the NSW Public Schools Cantabile Festival.
We had a rehearsal at the Opera House and then the next thing I know I was walking on stage. We played Satchmo by Louis Armstrong including songs in the piece like “What a wonderful world”, “When the saints go marching in” and many more. I have improved so much by my experience and I am ready for more musical challenges in the future. I just want to give a round of applause to my trumpet teacher, and SPS Band Conductor, Alex Bieri, who taught me how to play. If she hadn’t convinced me to start playing the trumpet then I wouldn’t have been writing this story.
Ava Kennedy 5/6B
