On Tuesday, December 8, three Symphonic Band clarinetists, Ashley Hoffman, McKenna Roberts, and Elizabeth Appold (l to r) were invited to attend a virtual honor band hosted by the University of Michigan Flint Music Department. The event was broken into three parts: a virtual meet and greet with Emmy award-winning composer Julie Giroux, a sectional with the clarinet teacher at U of M Flint, and a personal recording of Ms. Giroux’s music that will be compiled into a full band piece and sent out to the participants.
Roberts, clarinet section leader, was intrigued by Giroux’s love of video games: “Her background on the zoom call was a room in one of the video games, and she writes a lot of music that is related to the games.” All of the VL musicians loved hearing Giroux’s stories about her connections to a long list of celebrities and professional musicians. In addition to enjoying the clarinet teacher’s sense of humor, they deemed the entire virtual event a valuable and worthwhile experience.