Our team competed in the Bemidji Lumberjack Speech Invitational on February 25, 2012. We were on the bus at 6 AM which, by speech team standards, is quite late! The meet went without a hitch and the team did very well, bringing home the third place team trophy! My siblings and I also had a great day. As shown above, Brock took 2nd in Great Speeches. Brayden was 3rd in Inform and Novice Champion in Extemp Reading. Brett was 4th in Original Oratory, I was first in Humor and 4th in Story Telling, and Brielle competed in Inform and Prose but did not place. Congratulations to our team for the astounding success and many thanks to the Bemidji Lumberjacks and head coach Tom Lucas for an excellent meet!
Every year our Novice team travels to the East Grand Forks American Legion/ VFW Novice Meet in East Grand Forks, MN. At Novice meets, coaches and varsity team members are the judges and I was honored to be chosen as one of those varsity judges. As usual, the meet was very well organized by the East Grand Forks team and Coaches. I was so proud of our team and my younger siblings! Thief River Falls came home with the first place team trophy and pictured above, are my threee siblings on the novice team- Brock Drevlow (first in Original Oratory and first in Great Speeches), Brayden Drevlow (First in Inform and blue ribbon in Extemp. Reading), and Brielle Drevlow (first in Prose and red ribbon in Inform). Great meet! Thank you to East Grand Forks, the American Legion and the VFW!
On February 18, 2012 our team got up bright and early to compete in the Park Rapids Panthers Speech Invitational in Park Rapids, MN. Our team had a great showing coming home with a team trophy and I couldn't have been more proud of my team and siblings! Brett made finals in Original Oratory and Extemp Speaking, while Brielle almost made finals in her Inform and Prose! I made finals in Humor and Story Telling. I ended the day with a first in Humor and 3rd in Story Telling, while Brett placed second in OO and 8th in Extemp Speaking. Brayden and Brock missed this meet as they were performing in the MnSOTA All-State Middle School Honors Orchestra in Minneapolis! Thanks to the Park Rapids team and head coach Mr. David Overly for another superb meet!
I have been playing piano since I was in Kindergarden. My parents tell me that I had an unquenchable desire to play piano and so they started my lessons with a student of Marcia M. Knuttila, Karen Christianson. I studied with her for about six months before she felt that I would flourish more under Marcia (Miss K, as I call her). One of the pinnacles in her studio is to have the ability and desire to perform a piano concerto. One of my favorites has always been Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. Of course, there is only one way to learn a piece such as this one. Practice, practice, practice.
It took 13 years of dedication to daily practice to get to this point. This concerto is difficult to say the least. Not only is the fingering extremely challenging, but it also requires the technical ability to play it at the speed as written. Another problem playing a piece like this one is to find another pianast able to play the accompaniment. I am blessed to have a willing and able brother, Brayden, to play with me. Brayden has been "slaving" away working on this piece with me all summer, fall, and winter to get it where its at. I owe such a debt of gratitude to him for helping me.
Brayden and I were in numerous competitions this winter. We even had the honor of placing in the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra Competition earlier this month!. Take a minute, well, actually ten minutes, to listen to the video, too. Just another note- the first movement is actually about 23 minutes long. I actually can play the whole movement by memory but most contests only allow a ten minute cutting so that is what we recorded.
One last note- we recorded this video at Miss K's house on her two concert grand pianos- I am playing a new Yamaha and Brayden is playing Frank Sinatra's old Bosendorfer!
Wow! On February 11, 2012 we competed in the Moorhead Spuds Speech Invitational and it was full of stiff competition. Some very large teams were there- Moorhead- of course, Lakeville North, Eden Prairie, Marshall, St. Cloud Tech, Duluth, and more! Certainly this meet showcased talent that will be seen at both the State Class AA meet and likely NFL Nationals. I was pleased that our team did have some success! The picture above shows my first place finish in Story Telling and red ribbon in Drama. In the middle is Brock Drevlow, Top Novice in Great Speeches, and finally, Brett Drevlow, holding our team trophy for Top small school! The day was a great success and learning experience, all wrapped in one. Its always good to sharpen skills against highly skilled competition. Thanks to the Moorhead Speech Team for hosting a super meet, especially head coach Rebecca Meyer-Larson, who orchestrated the whole meet like a world class conductor! Thank you!
On 2/4/12 the Thief River Falls speech team traveled to Dilworth- Glyndon- Felton for their annual speech meet. As usual DGF and their head coach Kathy Martin were excellent hosts and put on a super meet! Thief River Falls took fourth, behind Perham, Moorhead, and the meet champions, East Grand Forks. My brothers and sister had a great day, too. Pictured left to right above are: Brielle Drevlow (5th, Prose); Brett Drevlow (2nd, Original Oratory and blue ribbon, Extemp. Speaking); Brianna Drevlow (1st Humor, 1st Story Telling, and 4th Drama); Brayden Drevlow (3rd, Informative); and Brock Drevlow (2nd Great Speeches, and 5th Poetry).
Hurray! The 2011-12 Speech season has officially begun! On 1/28/12 the Thief River Falls speech team traveled to East Grand Forks for their annual speech meet sponsored the the American Legion and VFW Post. I was so proud of our team and my siblings! Thief River Falls won the meet! Pictured left to right above are: Brock Drevlow (1st, Great Speeches and red ribbon, Poetry); Brayden Drevlow (1st, Informative and red ribbon, Prose); Brett Drevlow (1st Original Oratory and 3rd Extemp. Speaking); Brianna Drevlow (1st Humor, 1st Story Telling, 1st Drama); and Brielle Drevlow (blue ribbon, Prose).
Thank you to the East Grand Forks speech team for hosting another very well run meet!
Our team competed in the Bemidji Lumberjack Speech Invitational on February 25, 2012. We were on the bus at 6 AM which, by speech team standards, is quite late! The meet went without a hitch and the team did very well, bringing home the third place team trophy! My siblings and I also had a great day. As shown above, Brock took 2nd in Great Speeches. Brayden was 3rd in Inform and Novice Champion in Extemp Reading. Brett was 4th in Original Oratory, I was first in Humor and 4th in Story Telling, and Brielle competed in Inform and Prose but did not place. Congratulations to our team for the astounding success and many thanks to the Bemidji Lumberjacks and head coach Tom Lucas for an excellent meet!
