Students from the Nashville School of the Arts performed with country music group Lady Antebellum in September, and it all started with one video.
More than 20 music students practiced and performed with the Grammy award-winning band on Sept. 9 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville after they submitted a video of them performing Lady Antebellum’s hit song “You Look Good.” The video was part of a contest to perform with the group.
After 32 years of teaching, this performance was a career first for band director Glenn Fugett, who says he normally would have not have had his band audition for this type of contest. However, his school’s music supervisor talked him into submitting the audition.
Not only did the students have fun, but they also learned two valuable lessons, Fugett says. They learned how much work—from sound checks to visual presentation—goes into a professional performance. The main lesson, though, was the importance of fundamentals even at a professional level.
While the Nashville band warmed up, two horn players from Lady Antebellum talked to the students about how they still practice their scales and lip slurs. “I think that really struck a chord with them because they thought, ‘Oh, these guys are professional musicians, and they still practice their fundamentals that Mr. Fugett is having us play every day,’ and I think that was a good thing for them to see that even if you’re a professional musician, you still have to practice your fundamentals,” Fugett says.
Photo from Friends of NSA Facebook
