When it comes to chair auditioning for the Bronze and Red bands in the Southeast Mississippi Band Directors Association’s annual band clinic, it’s pretty rare for a sixth-grader to audition with the seventh- and eighth-graders who usually make up that section of the competition.
It’s even more rare – in fact, almost unheard of – for a sixth-grader to earn first chair in that event. But that’s exactly what Brady Ball, a 12-year-old Petal Upper Elementary student, accomplished at the most recent clinic, held recently at Jones College in Ellisville.
“I feel very confident for the (upcoming) years, because in the sixth grade, making that band was very hard,” said Ball, who earned top chair percussion in the Bronze Band, the higher of the two middle school tiers. “I was very nervous at the audition, but now I feel confident that if I just put my mind to it, I can accomplish anything I want to in the next years.”
Approximately 70 students from area schools – including Petal, Quitman, Purvis, Sumrall and Oak Grove – auditioned for percussion spots in the SEMBDA clinic, playing prepared pieces for snare, mallets and other percussion instruments. A panel of two judges then selected seven percussionists for the Bronze Band, along with nine for the Red Band.
“So for (Ball) to get that as a sixth-grader, he beat all of the students who have been (in class) for two or three years – seventh- and eighth-graders, even those from other districts,” said Ryan Saul, percussion director of the Petal School District. “I knew he had a chance at doing well, and he exceeded that expectation.
“Since I’ve been teaching, I haven’t had a student audition for the middle school in sixth grade, much less make first chair, and I’ve been teaching since 2002 at Petal. The goal was for him to audition and get the experience and have something to challenge him, and certainly I didn’t know that he would be making the top chair, so that was double bonus. I’m very proud of him.”
Ball picked up percussion when he was about 4 years old, following in the footsteps of his older brothers, who were involved with marching band and indoor percussion.
“I had a really early start, which I’m really glad for because I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if it wouldn’t have started early,” Ball said. “So that just kind of motivates me, because everybody has something that they’re good at, and people have more than one thing.
“But this is basically my only thing that I actually put my mind to, and to be able to go to indoor and marching band practices and soak up every bit of information that I can is something that I really cherish. That motivates me to do good in the next years.”
Now that he’s earned first chair in the Bronze Band, Ball is looking forward to trying out next year for the SEMBDA high school band, which consists of the Gold and Silver bands.
“Hopefully, I’ll make Silver Band first year – that’s my goal for next year,” he said. “Then when I get into eighth grade, I’d like to make chair in Gold Band, because Gold Band is really hard to me.”
After graduating from high school, Ball has plans on joining Drum Corps International, a governing body for junior drum and bugle corps.
“I want to do that and see which drum corps I want to try out for, because hopefully by then there’s going to be more drum corps that are going to be invented,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll make one of those.”
