I'm playing this for the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest. What are some of your thoughts on the piece?

Good Luck... Its a difficult piece that requires endurance! Hope your good enough to play it!

Woah, the Copland's a gut buster! But it's great. The trick is not to play the cadenza too fast just to sound showy. Nine times out of ten, it'll fall apart. The more you pace yourself, the more secure it is and the more effective. Work really slowly on the altissimo passages until it's in your finger memory as reading passages up that high can be confusing, especially in the 6 flats section. And finally just go for it. If you play it cheekily and with heaps of energy regardless of any nerves, it'll cover up any technical mishaps a lot better than if you play it cautiously.