How to respond to something without scaring them away...

Hey everyone!

Well unlike most composers around here, I love to compose for marching bands. *ewww gross* yeah yeah yeah, well we all have our differences. Yesterday I emailed all the presidents/directors/owners of DCI (drum corps international) offering my compositional skills for their bands, and I got back three emails already. One of them said they already have their showed designed for next year, but they liked my interest. One said they'll send it out to the other owners and talk about things, and the third asked which college i'm attending.

Well, I'm still a senior in high school, so how should I respond to this email without scaring him off? I have a few really cool ideas for some shows, but if I just respond with "i'm still a senior in high school" he'll (most likely) be all like "well then nevermind."

The only thing I can think of is to reply with something along the lines with "I plan on attending UK" or "I plan......next fall"

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Mathieux

Never say "still" in the negative sense, it connotes inadequacy.

Your best bet is probably to tell of your plans, there's no getting around the fact that you're in high school. If you have been accepted, definitely say that you WILL be attending such and such in the fall. But yes, you really should not lie or dance around a direct question when applying for a gig. Say you are a senior at hightschoolname and will attend/plan to attend universityname next fall. And don't say "still."

If they want someone with more experience and/or training, there's nothing you can do about that. Your best foot forward in this case is your ambition and your demo; you have demos, yes? I hate to be blunt but they really don't have any reason to hire you if you don't have any demos to show them and they apparently prefer someone older/more experienced.

My .02

Good luck.