Senior Jeremy Guo has just made history for the Kinkaid band program.
A clarinet player, Guo has become the first Kinkaid band musician placed into both the Association of Texas Small School Bands (ATSSB) All-State Band and the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-State Band for four consecutive years.
Guo emphasized that the journey wasn’t an easy one.
“I’m pretty proud of myself for doing all that,” he said. “It takes quite a bit of commitment and you got to practice; I’m proud of my consistency and my efforts.”
Looking back on his experience, Guo recalled that the time commitment for practicing was one of the biggest obstacles to his success and something that he always had to work around. As both an honors student and a varsity athlete, finding time to play his clarinet every day consistently was a tough hardship to overcome.
“Practicing is a non-negotiable, so I have to work around that every afternoon: it takes a lot more time and a lot more planning,” Guo said. “I can’t procrastinate. I gotta practice an hour a day—that has to stay consistent—so I gotta work around that with all my schoolwork and that’s a big challenge there.”
Another more unexpected challenge also arose in Guo’s strive for All-State placements.
For the past three years, the Southwest Preparatory Conference swimming and diving championships have coincided with All-State band auditions, forcing Guo, who is a strong varsity swimmer, to sacrifice the honor of representing Kinkaid in the championships several times in a row.
“Missing all the SPCs is I guess my one regret,” Guo said. “I don’t even know if it’s a regret, but that’s just something that I wish I could go to. I am in all the relays for the swim team and am one of the fastest sprinters, and swim is my main sport, so I definitely wanted to be there for my team, but unfortunately I just cannot do that because of All-State.”
Even despite all the personal difficulties Guo faced, he highlights that the people who’ve supported him played an enormous role in his success, specifically citing the efforts of Mr. Russell Vogt, Kinkaid’s Director of Bands.
“Although Mr. Vogt didn’t teach me any clarinet stuff as he’s a brass player, his emotional support is definitely there: he checks in on me every few days,” Guo said. “He knew that I was capable of making it, but he never let that show, he’s just like, ‘Try your best.’ That definitely helped a lot with the emotions and nervousness during auditions.”
After four years of success in auditioning and practicing, Guo has learned many lessons about playing music. Specifically, he’s discovered a lot about healthy mindsets and how to approach music in general, advice that he directs at other Kinkaid music students and those striving for success in organized musical placements.
“Don’t focus on getting a certain chair,” Guo said. “Change the mindset. Love the music. Love what you do. Don’t force it, but of course practice hard. Let it come naturally. Let the music flow.”
