By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
The concept is one that many people recognize, but few embrace.
Practice makes perfect.
Ella Tietz gets it. The Mahomet-Seymour junior understands the correlation between effort exerted and results received.
She is not a musical prodigy, but is a product of practice, which helps to explain her selection to the All-State Orchestra in the trombone section at last week’s Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA) performance in Peoria.
“During our break times at All-State, some of the other trombonists and I went to the exhibit hall to play even more trombone even though we had been playing all day,” Tietz said.
It has been her instrument of choice since fifth grade.
“I don’t think I was ever unsure about playing trombone as I loved it since the moment I first picked it up,” Tietz said.
She selected the instrument, she said, because “of the slide, and I love the sound of a gliss.”
There has been no looking back.
“I can’t imagine not having picked trombone,” Tietz said. “I love playing trombone so much.”
Her diligence in playing and the skills she has developed enabled Tietz to earn a seat for the first time in the ILMEA All-State Orchestra last weekend in Peoria.
She had successfully completed the first round of auditions last fall and entered the final round of auditions last Thursday knowing she had a guaranteed spot in one of two groups: the Honors Orchestra or the All-State Orchestra.
The most-recent audition presented a familiar opportunity.
“We knew the music quite well because it is the same music that we auditioned with for districts in September,” Tietz said. “We played ‘A minor’ and ‘G major’ etudes, the ILMEA scale sheet and sight-reading.”
Tietz had some concerns as she exited the audition room.
“I didn’t play as well as I can because during my scales I went on autopilot and then I forgot where I was, and on the sight-reading I messed up a few notes and rhythms,” she said.
“That being said, I didn’t feel great coming out, but I didn’t think that I had gotten last, and my goal for the weekend was to not get last chair, and even if I had, I still wouldn’t have been mad because overall All-State was a fun experience.”
Among all trombone players who had qualified for ILMEA State at Peoria, Tietz was 12th overall. There were 18 trombones, not including bass trombones.
The auditions at state are structured so that the student is alone while performing.
“The audition was not in front of other students,” Tietz said. “Basically what happens is you stand outside the room. Then you wait for the room monitor to come out.
“It is a blind audition, so they don’t see you. You go in the first room, and there are two judges, and if you have any questions, it has to be directed at the room monitor.
“Once I finished playing my etudes, I waited outside the second room and there were also two judges, and in that room, I played my scales, and sight-reading.”
She has developed a ritual which helps to control her anxiety.
“Usually during auditions, my mouth gets dry from nerves,” Tietz said, “so before an audition, I drink a lot of water, and then I just take a deep breath before going in the room to make sure I have sufficient air to actually be able to play, since playing trombone is based upon air.”
Tietz has taken private lessons for six years, studying under James McCauley.
“I have taken them from the same teacher since (the summer before her sixth-grade year),” she said.
“It has definitely helped me become a better player because every week I learn new things, and also lesson teachers normally push students to take part in solo and ensemble and ILMEA, so those kinds of things motivate me to practice harder so that I do well at them.”
At the district tryouts last fall in Bloomington – the first stage of the process to reach state – Tietz auditioned for both the orchestra and the jazz band.
She overcame obstacles to qualify for both.
“I was second chair in orchestra, and I was the bass trombonist for the top jazz band,” she said, “but our school doesn’t have a bass trombone, so I just used my F-attachment horn, and I was still able to play all of the notes, so it worked out.”
She is also a member of M-S’ Marching Band. Tietz faces no shortages of opportunities to practice or play.
“My favorite is jazz band,” Tietz said. “I really enjoy jazz band because it’s different, and it is one of my only chances to experience jazz.
“Improvisation/soloing is probably the best part of jazz band. I am not a great improviser by any means, but I still enjoy it.”
Whether she is in Marching Band, jazz band or concert band, there is one universal truth.
“It is a group effort,” she said. “If even one person messes up, it ruins the effect.”
As for the Saturday concert, Tietz said there were no glaring errors.
“The concert went great,” she said. “For us, there weren’t any obvious mistakes. The hardest song for trombone was “Circus Bee March” and I would say it went very well.”
The band played five numbers in all, including “El Camino Real,” “Zing,” and “America the Beautiful.”
“For ‘America the Beautiful,’ we played it with the chorus and orchestra,” Tietz said.
Tietz doesn’t yet know what direction she wants her life’s path to take, but there is one part she knows for sure.
“I do hope that I can continue music in some way,” she said. “Like even if it is just playing for fun, then I still want to because music has been part of my life for over half of it now, and I don’t really want to cut it out entirely.”
Music is not only a release for the busy teen-ager, but also a means to provide a boost in her other activities.
“With how busy I am, music provides me with a lot of discipline because there are definitely days that I am tired, and I don’t want to practice, but I know I have to,” Tietz said.
“In the past, I was really bad about that, and if I didn’t want to practice, then I just didn’t, but recently, I have been trying to practice at least a little each day because I know if I don’t practice, then I won’t get better.”
She can describe herself now in terms that wouldn’t have been accurate in years past.
“Trombone has helped a lot with confidence,” Tietz said. “When people think of trombone, they think loud, and that isn’t really how I was in the beginning, but as I progressed, I gained a lot of confidence through jazz band, ILMEA and solo and ensemble.
“I would say that I play with a lot of confidence now.”
Tietz said the weekend in Peoria was memorable for reasons beyond the music they experienced while in their chairs.
“I think ILMEA is a really good experience because you get to meet a lot of new people and bond over something as common as music,” she said. “In addition to that, with All-State we got to meet people from all over the state, and it is really cool to learn about how their high schools compare with ours.”
Tietz learned that some of her assumptions – based on the way the program is structured at M-S – were not accurate elsewhere.
While competition is an important component of the M-S program, not all schools share that philosophy.
“The first chair guy in my band, said that their jazz band doesn’t even compete,” Tietz said. “I heard him playing in the exhibit hall, and he is way better than me.
“It was just really surprising that they didn’t compete, and prior to this weekend, I just assumed that everyone got to compete with jazz band.”
Another of her bandmates said his school doesn’t compete during the Marching Band season.
Tietz welcomed the chance to meet and interact with band students from throughout the state because it elevated the stakes for everyone.
“It just gives you a chance to play with a more high-level band than any of us are used to,” she said, “and for some people that don’t have a large music program, it is really huge because there are a lot of people at ILMEA.
“There was an exhibit where there were different colleges, and different instrument brands, and a lot of us got to go in during break to try out different instruments, and play random stuff together.
“There were bass trombones in the exhibit hall, so a lot of us went to play them. A lot of schools don’t own any because they are so expensive.”
While the ILMEA state competition on Saturday signaled one end, Tietz’s schedule doesn’t lighten up appreciably any time soon.
The Mahomet-Seymour jazz band competitive season starts on Saturday at Eastern Illinois University. Tietz will also participate in solo and ensemble competition on March 7.
Those who know her well won’t be surprised by her approach.
“I have practiced a lot in preparation for those,” Tietz said.
She would do more, if it were possible.
“I wish that I had more time to practice since I like it so much, but sadly that is not the reality,” she said.
Another reality is also equally clear. Ella Tietz has cemented her status as one of the state’s 18-best high school trombone players.
