10th Annual Music Festival, or Maggie's First Ensemble Performance

Since the fall, Maggie has been taking a group violin class as part of the school district's music program. The program normally begins for students in fourth grade, but because Maggie had already been playing the violin for well over a year and a half (and using the same book that the class would be using) I appealed to the teacher and was allowed to enroll her in the intermediate violin class. That meant that she was playing with children who began the violin last year as 4th graders, so they are all at least in 5th grade! Maggie is three years younger than any of the other students and has done an excellent job all year long.

On April 4, the elementary students joined with the middle school and high school music groups for an all-district Music Festival. (See Maggie there in the middle?)

The elementary string students were led by their teacher Ms. Poulin as they played "Lightly Row" and "The Can Can." The elementary band, middle school orchestra and concert band, high school symphony orchestra, wind ensemble, and symphonic band also played. Some favorite pieces were "Creepy Crawlies" (kids playing on just their trumpet mouthpieces sounded like buzzing bugs at the beginning of the song), "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (what's a high school gym without it?), "The Lord of the Dance" (those high school violinists were impressively fast), and several John Williams classics (Superman, Star Wars).

The final piece was "Winged Victory (Beacons of Light)" by Brian Balmages (whoever that is) played by the Combind Milpitas Unified School District Bands and Orchestras. It was a magnificent conclusion and I was impressed with the coordination of so many young musicians.

We're very proud of Maggie's participation in the concert. She was the youngest performer and learned a lot in preparation for playing in a larger orchestral ensemble. She struggled at times in the class, feeling a little out of place as a second grader amongst all the older kids, but she stuck it out and did a wonderful job. Brava Maggie!