A student standing outside the recording room nervously taps her finger and hums the melody of Roman Carnival Overture. Inside the room, a student plays a similar tune. When the music inside subsides, she gathers her instrument—the cello—and gets ready. “Wish me luck!” she says, and enters.
Getting in AMIS—the Association for Music in International Schools—is the highest honor a high school music student can achieve. The association gathers passionate students across Europe and Asia who excel in a particular musical instrument to play together as one group. Students in SAS PD have been active participants in AMIS for the past few years. The tryouts for AMIS Orchestra, Band, and Choir were held this week, and many auditioned for the very selective roles in the concert.
The selection process for AMIS is rigorous: students enter the recording room with their music teacher and play the selected piece for the year. The recorded piece is then sent to the AMIS headquarters, where the student is then accepted or rejected from the honor ensemble the following year.
Students take this selection process very seriously. Many even prepare for the audition over the summer holiday. But as the expectations build up, so do stress and pressure. As a single performance can decide if a student is accepted into the final concert or not, this can certainly become a burden for students.
Julie Xie, sophomore and cello player, expressed her jitters for her audition for AMIS Orchestra. “As someone who has never been to AMIS, I took this process very seriously. I practiced a lot and when I went in I was really nervous—my hands were sweaty and everything,” Xie said.
“If I don’t get in, then the only thing I can do is to try harder.”
Many students are visibly worried after their audition, declaring it the cause for their “bad mood”—while others are more relaxed. “I did my best,” Zoe Chen, a sophomore who auditioned for AMIS Band, said. “I don’t know if I got in or not.”
Regardless of acceptance or rejection from AMIS, nothing can diminish a musician’s love for their music. “Even if I don’t get in, I will still love music,” Yuna Kashiwa, a sophomore who tried out for AMIS Orchestra, said. “I’ll just work hard and try again next year.”
Chen echoed Kashiwa’s point. “I like playing music because of its beautiful melodies and the satisfaction I get when I finally master a piece.” Getting a place in AMIS may be highly sought-after and can cause a lot of stress, but the enjoyment of playing music is a constant that students will remember as the most important aspect.