Posted by Steve Dedman on December 16, 2001 at 00:32:14:
In Reply to: Decisions...Decisions...Decisions... posted by James McNeil on December 15, 2001 at 21:42:10:
The way I see it, there are 3 possibilities.
1) Do what your band director asks. This will not help your CC playing much, but is the ensemble experience gained enough to offset that? From your post it doesn't look like it. But ensemble time is ensemble time, and nothing can substitute for that, no matter how "unchallenging" that might be. Gene Pokorny still has to play whole notes in tune and with a good sound and with good sectional blend. And the only place to hone those skills is in an ensemble.
2) Drop band. To me that's only an option if you have ensemble performance opportunities elsewhere, like in a good community band, and take private lessons at least weekly. However, that act might also be enough to convince your band director that you are serious.
3) Transfer to another school where you are allowed to play your CC. This one is problematic, as well. You will have to make new friends, your parents might have to pay tuition if the other school doesn't have an open-transfer policy, and for all you know the ensemble challenge isn't any greater there. So unless you are very familiar with the program at another school, better the frying pan you know than the fire you don't.
The only advice here is to weigh your options carefully, and solicit the involvement of your private instructor as well as your parents. If the band director knows that your parents will completely support any decision you make, then the idea of losing his best tuba player in order to make the band visually better (not musically!) becomes more of a reality than most will take. Good high school tuba players are hard enough to find without running off the ones you have.
Good luck...
SD