.-, " ACH\EV\NG GR.EATNESS H iroaki Tizumi, or better known as H iro, was a junior music perfor– mance maj o r from Hong Kong. H e had the opportunity to attend Rafael Mendez Brass Institute in Colorado last summer. At the b rass camp h e learned from some of the top instructors and play alongside peers who had the same enthusi– asm he had. But how did he get in? " I got in by sending an email to Mr. Daniel Perantoni, who is a renown ed tuba pedagogue, clinician and an instructor at Indiana University, Bloomington," Iizumi said. " I wrote him that I had always wanted to take lesso ns from him and I want to par– ticipate in th is program to get exposed to good brass players out the re. " Peranloni responded bysaying he would fO""81'd the email to the pe rson in charge of the camp. lizumi was also awarded a $450 scholarship. Once at the camp he not only got to learn from the tOP instructors but also got to listen and learn from others in his same posit ion. " I too k lessons from great teachers and learned so much from them ," lizumi said . "But the most valuable thing I brought back with me was th e inspiration I got by listen – ing to other students p er form and learning how they approach music ." Once back at Harding, !izumi was the section leader of the tuba sect ion in the band. He also played with the orchestra and was a so loist and an equipment manager for th e band. He kept very busy with his music major and his love of playing the tuba. Music majors were asked to spend many hours in rehearsal. Associate Professor of Music and Director of Bands and Or– chestra Dr. Michael Chance said that most private teachers J'equire hours of practice to get students to accomplish the goals as– signed . " It is not unusual for instrumental ma – jors preparing fo r juries, recitals or young artist competitions to practice three [or mor el hours per day," Chance said. "Th is is in addition to any required en semble p ract ice times, which could add up to three to seven hours per week." Iizumi seemed to have no probl em with all the hours spen t in rehearsal because he was dedicated to becoming the best he could be. H e had been playing the piano since he was four and th e tuba since his freshman year in high school. Senior music education majo r Adam Mowrer knew lizumi for three year s through playing in the band together . Mowrer sa id that h e was an in cred ible tuba player and unbelievabl e at hear ing pitches. "He is always practicing and walking around with his mouth piece glued to his mouth ," Mowrer said. " His practice time makes the rest of us look bad. " lizumi always looked for opportuni – ties to furth e r his talent. He applied for the De lta Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and was one of the finalists. Though he did not win, he kept a positive attitude because he got to listen to other players and was inspired again. l izumi's.attitude to improving his skills was encouragi ng because he said that he en– joyed the process o f becoming better and even compared it to being "beautiful , like polishing a diamond. " His hopes of be– coming one of th e best seemed to be com– ing true. Ashel Parsons Junior Hiro IIzumi performs a solo April 23, 2009 in a concert dedicated to Dr. Eddie Baggett, retired director of bands. lizumi's passion was his music, and he hoped to share that when he graduated with a degree in Music Education. Courtesy of Hiro lizumi IIzuml performs during halftime of the Homecoming footba ll game Oct. 31. He spent endless hours throughout his college career perfecting the art of musicianship. Nick Michael instrumenta l music 221
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