Nancy Zhang Makes District VII High School Honors Band

Just before the Christmas Break, a group of Darlington Upper School Band members traveled to East Paulding High School in Dallas, Ga., to audition for our GMEA District VII Honors Band. This is a significant honors band event; the first step to making All-State. In order to audition, high school students had to memorize many scales that demonstrate the full range of their instruments, play their chromatic scale through a few octaves, prepare an etude, and also sight read an excerpt. I am proud of each band member who auditioned, and I am pleased to announce that sophomore Nancy Zhang won a seat in the clarinet section of the District VII Grade 9-10 Honors Band!

Nancy began her journey at Darlington this August. As a new member of the band, she has already contributed tremendously to our performances throughout our fall and winter season. Nancy began playing clarinet where she grew up in China. She first picked up the instrument at her elementary school in the fourth grade. She also has lots of experience working with musicals. She is a former swimming and tennis athlete who also enjoys volunteering and spending time with animals.

When I asked Nancy why she first chose to play the clarinet, she responded, “I was first attracted to the clarinet's tone; the notes and melodies brought out by this instrument are absolutely euphoric. Additionally, I enjoyed the ensemble performance and the atmosphere of playing instruments as a group. Thus, clarinet is a perfect choice to achieve my aspiration of participating in a musical team.” We are indeed fortunate to have Nancy as an active member in our band program.

Preparing for this audition was a challenge, and Nancy had to develop several new notes that were in the extreme range of her instrument. She said she had to maintain a consistent attitude toward practicing the assigned materials. She incorporated regular practice time and set small goals to make to make progress gradually. Nancy also rose early from the dorms every Saturday morning (even after late Friday night football games with the band) and headed to the Zelle Band room to worked with a private teacher, virtually.

Nancy says that this award is a continuation of the confidence and pride she gets from being a band member. “I think my band ensemble experiences have brought me a sense of achievement, specifically when we have concerts or performances," she said. "I liked the feeling of spending time and effort during practice to bring out fantastic music together as a team and present it to audiences.”

Nancy’s favorite performance at Darlington so far was the Christmas Concert. She will now have the opportunity to contribute and achieve alongside several other clarinet players of a similar talent level at the District Honors Band.

This was Nancy’s first experience auditioning in front of judges, and she found it difficult, especially to stay focused while playing through the many scales. However, Nancy managed to impress no less than four judges, and she earned a score high enough to sit toward the front of the clarinet section. With this achievement, Nancy will travel to Ringgold High School from February 8-10. She will rehearse with a guest conductor during these days and the District VII Honors Bands will perform a concert Saturday, Feb. 10.

I can say that we are very proud to have Nancy represent the Darlington Band. She works exceptionally hard and leads by example. She will no doubt return as a stronger leader after this event and contribute even more to our own band rehearsals.

“I am very excited to meet new people who are excellent musicians with strong aspirations toward instruments," said Nancy. "I believe that this experience can help me learn more musical skills from others and progress on my own playing strategies in the future.”