Max Baxter earning a spot on the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) All-National Modern Band was an honor. Having the concert go virtual was a disappointment – until it happened.
“I really enjoyed having that experience, even though it was over Zoom,” said Baxter. “I didn’t think there’d be a lot to it, but there was.”
NAfME cancelled the Modern Band concert, as well as the other performances originally scheduled to take place November 4-8, 2020 in Orlando, FL because of COVID-19. Baxter spent the weekend of January 8th and 9th of this year over Zoom with the best high school musicians in the country, and with some of the top musical educators, engineers and producers.
“The guest speakers were very inspirational, I took a lot from them. The one thing that really stuck with me was, ‘Give up giving up,’” said Baxter.
After hearing from the speakers, each ensemble moved to their Zoom meeting for rehearsal.
“Modern Band only had about 15 people and we talked about our pieces. We all bonded to put our parts together,” said Baxter. “It was a very enjoyable experience for me because I enjoy collaborating with people I don’t know. They’re more talented than I am and have a mind like mine.”
Baxter, a senior, has been accepted to three SUNY schools: Fredonia, Buffalo, and Potsdam. He still needs to audition on classical guitar to be accepted into the Music Education program. Those auditions will be in March.
“(Classical guitar) is a lot more particular, more about technique. When people pick up an electric guitar, they don’t think about where their hand placement needs to be. They just want to play a song and look cool,” said Baxter.
Two weeks after the Modern Band ensemble met over Zoom, members submitted their performances via video. NAfME organizers are still editing to make a single video performance. Baxter feels his experience will help him as he pursues a career in music education.
“The guest speakers gave me motivation over and over. There were a lot of valuable lessons in their stories,” said Baxter.