Opus 29

Yesterday was the Opus 29 Concert. Wes had a regular day of school, but Wayne, Cole, Heather, and I had inservice.  I don't have to go to work on inservice days, so the kids and I drove down to the Elley-Long Music Center at St. Michaels College. 

During the day the musicians meet with the young composers to rehearse and discuss their pieces. Wayne's rehearsal was scheduled for 1:40, but we arrived around 1:00 to be "on deck," as they call it and to listen to the other composers discuss their compositions with the musicians.

Below, Wayne sits with Sandi MacLeod, the director of this whole Music-Comp and Opus project. Wayne's music teacher was not able to make it to the day due to car trouble, so Sandi joined Wayne on stage for his rehearsal. Also, I should point out here that Wayne was not able to attend any of the school composition meetings due to sports, so he really did this whole thing on his own as an independent study this time.

When Wayne did Opus last spring, the concert pieces featured string and woodwind instruments. This time students were required to write for their choice of brass, piano, percussion, and voice, or any combination thereof.

I loved the french horn. It sounded so good.

As part of the school's composition group, Cole came along to observe the rehearsal discussions and to attend the workshops. Other students from the school had originally planned to come but due to the music teacher's car problems and bad weather, they did not make it. Since there was no school, Heather came along too.

Video recording for the DVD.

After Wayne's rehearsal, they went into a workshop. 

Anne Hamilton from Newport and she talked about the importance of patterns in music composition.

Wayne and Cole attended another workshop later in the afternoon. Heather and I somehow got roped into helping out in the kitchen, preparing snacks, coffee, drinks, and getting ready for the evening dinner. 

Before the concert, a big group photo with all the kids, musicians, and mentors.

Some of Wayne's fan club. Wes drove down after school. We appreciated martha and Chris coming, especially since Martha was not feeling well. Joanie was also in attendance, but when I took this photo, she was out moving her car so it wouldn't get towed.

Showtime!

Luckily, Wayne's piece was played in the first half of the concert, so like last year, we quietly ducked out at intermission. It had been snowing all day and evening, so the roads were terrible. It was a long ride home. It was a good thing Wayne's music teacher had not come with the other classmates - it was a treacherous drive.

We are very proud of Wayne for having a composition chosen 2 times in a row. It is a wonderful experience for him.

**Note**
I ran into Wayne's music teacher, Ms. Kennedy, at the store this evening and she said she had gotten an email from Sandi MacLeod ( the woman sitting with him onstage duirng the rehearsal) In the email, Sandi had told her that Wayne would be one to keep an eye on in the years to come. She is very impressed with him.