The Championship of Lithuanian wind instrument orchestras was held in Panevėžys. The grand prize was brought to the Panevėžys district by the orchestra of the Paistria Cultural Center “Dūdorėliai”. Gabriele Bannikova was at the forefront of all the orchestra players, who won the title of best soloist.
Even more motivation
Gabriele has been playing in the wind instrument orchestra of the Paistries Cultural Center for six years, she says that she looks at recognition simply.
“I do not look at this nomination as a great merit. I would rather draw from it even more motivation to move on, to pursue dreams that I really want to fulfill. Of course, we had to work for the name of the best soloist – the teacher of the specialty, Martynas Bražas, when he found out that I was going to play a solo, told me to bring sheet music and to prepare diligently. I rehearsed both together with the orchestra and alone. Still, it’s nice to be appreciated for sincere and hard work,” the orchestra player smiled.
According to G. Bannikova, the most important thing is that the performed work should have “character”.
“That was the basis of the preparation – to learn how to perform the piece in such a way that it has ‘character’. As in any other artistic work, character must be revealed in an orchestral performance,” explained the trombone player and continued:
“My orchestra leader has performed this solo in music school a long time ago, together with his teacher at the time. This solo had not yet been arranged for orchestra – it could be said that it was a separate work arranged for trombone and piano. So, the orchestra and I asked for the sheet music for this solo, and when we received it, we turned to the composer Mika Karos, who wrote an arrangement for a full orchestra. Basically, this piece has been passed down from generation to generation.”
He did not think that he would follow the path of music
Gabriela is currently sixteen years old. The girl studies at the V. Mikalauskas Art Gymnasium in Panevėžys. Unlike many other musicians and creators, she did not discover her vocation in early childhood, but rather later.
“It was in the fourth grade. I remember very well – Andrius Gudas, the leader of the “Dūdorėlių” orchestra, came to the music lesson, who led education about the instruments, played it himself, and let us try it. It really made me want to play in an orchestra, so I decided to join. Until that moment, I had no inclination towards music. It can be said that everything happened at the right time and place”, said Gabriele.
Similarly, the orchestra player chose her instrument – the trombone.
“On the very first day in the orchestra, the conductor simply handed over the trombone and asked: ‘Do you want to try?’ I didn’t hesitate, I said “Yes”. Since then, I didn’t even try to change the instrument – the trombone simply suited me, it matched my character,” the girl recalled.
Interested in psychology
Music occupies a large part of Gabriele’s free time, however, there is time for other hobbies – reading and delving into the science of psychology. According to the interlocutor, the latter activity is extremely important for the musician.
“We cannot “sit down” in one place, we constantly study, rehearse, step on stage and repeat the whole routine over and over again. Most of us have big ambitions and goals, so we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. As a result, there may be a risk of burnout,” Gabrielė said and continued:
“So psychology is what we must be interested in.” Every musician needs to develop psychological resilience to cope with the hectic pace of life. Also, this interest will help you realize that various fears are normal – both the fear of stepping on stage and the fear of not achieving something.”
The trombonist of the orchestra emphasized that musicians especially suffer from the fear of not reaching the set goal.
“The life of any performer is like a roller coaster. One day you can feel unique, and the next you can fall into such a slump, from which it seems that you will never get out. You need to learn to be positive and survive failures without painful consequences,” the musician added.
Expectations for the future
The musician who won the title of the best soloist plans to enter the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater.
“I want to study performing arts and symphonic conducting there. I choose to associate my future with orchestral music simply because the process itself inspires me greatly. I feel how the trust of the teachers and orchestra leaders also motivates me to work, to pursue my dreams and to step firmly on the path of music”, Gabrielė Bannikova, trombonist of the “Dūdorėlių” orchestra, ended the interview with a smile.
