On Monday evening, I attended the Fletcher Middle Band Concert. I was invited by a former student. This kid took his recorder study very seriously. He stopped by my classroom almost daily to share his progress with me throughout his entire 5th grade year. The most interesting thing about this is that I don't teach recorder in fifth grade; only in fourth. As if on cue, he dropped by Chets Creek two weeks ago and informed me that he was currently playing the trombone in the middle school band and wanted me to come to his concert. I e-mailed his band director to get the particulars regarding his performance and wrote it down on my calendar. I was determined to be there. Most of my students feed to Kernan Middle School, and I was so proud to see that I had a tuba player, several flute players, numerous saxophone and clarinet players and a percussionist - TWELVE in all in the Fletcher Middle band! Approximately 30 students headed to Fletcher last year from Chets Creek; almost half of them are in the band. I was blown away.
On Tuesday evening, I attended the Kernan Middle School Winter Concert. I was blown away again! THIRTY-FIVE of my former students were scattered among the numerous performance groups that played and sang that night. There was a beginning band, a concert band, a jazz band, a chorus and a recorder ensemble. Some of them were pulling double-duty playing instruments from completely unrelated instrument families in more than one ensemble. The energy in the room prior to the performance was so strong you could feel it. Administrators, teachers, parents, grandparents, siblings - you name it - filled the room to capacity. The best part is that this program has only been in existence for a little over a year. The musicians on the stage were so professional in the way they presented themselves and in the way they performed. I was deeply honored to be sitting in the audience.
On Thursday evening, I attended my third "Winter Concert" of the week at LaVilla School of the Arts. My niece and two former students sang in the 6th grade treble chorus and it was fabulous. I could hardly believe that a sound so pure and so clear was being produced by a group of 11-year olds who just began their journey at LaVilla four months ago. I was also surprised by the sheer number of performance groups housed in the vocal department. There are so many, they have to divide the concert in half. Last night, we saw Act One. Tonight, Act Two will take the stage and all vocal students must return to support their peers and write a critique of the performance. It was such an amazing experience, I can't wait to return for their spring concert!
On Thursday evening, I attended my third "Winter Concert" of the week at LaVilla School of the Arts. My niece and two former students sang in the 6th grade treble chorus and it was fabulous. I could hardly believe that a sound so pure and so clear was being produced by a group of 11-year olds who just began their journey at LaVilla four months ago. I was also surprised by the sheer number of performance groups housed in the vocal department. There are so many, they have to divide the concert in half. Last night, we saw Act One. Tonight, Act Two will take the stage and all vocal students must return to support their peers and write a critique of the performance. It was such an amazing experience, I can't wait to return for their spring concert!
Amber and Katie
Vocalists Extraordinaire!!
Until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment