Opus 28

Yesterday was Wayne's big day.

We traveled 2 hours in the rain to Ludlow for the Opus 28 concert. Wayne finally met his music composing mentor, Erik Neilson, in person for the first time.

There were 25 student compositions being rehearsed throughout the day before the evening performance. Wayne's piece was first on the rehearsal list. He and other students joined the musicians on stage as they played his composition and Wayne made comments, gave feedback, and mentioned some things he's like them to do differently. Cole and Ben came along as well, because they are part of the school's composing club. Another friend was supposed to come along, but was not able to make it. Students are encouraged to listen to each others rehearsals and learn from them.

It was quite an experience to hear Wayne's piece played live for the first time. It sounds so much more rich and lively after getting used to hearing the computer generated version all these weeks. I was so proud I almost burst into tears.

The people who run this project, including the mentors and musicians, are so organized and so nice. It was such a great experience. Wayne's mentor saw his name tag and immediately knew him, even though he probably mentors dozens of kids. He also saw Cole's name tag and said, "Oh you're the fella who's writing Dark Piano."  Wayne's mentor told me that he was very impressed with how hard Wayne worked on his piece.

When the coordinator saw me with my camera she told me to feel free to go right up on stage and take as many pictures as I wanted, wherever I wanted.

Wayne on the stage during rehearsal with his teacher, Ms. Kennedy, Cole, and Ben.

After Wayne's rehearsal and after listening to some other rehearsals, we took a rainy walk to Subway for lunch.

After lunch, there were workshops to attend.

And snacks. I later learned that Cole ate 7 brownies.

Wayne had to be interviewed for DVD footage. His teacher, Ms. Kennedy , read the interview questions, while a tech from Lake Champlain Access Television recorded it.

There was dinner of lasagna, salad, bread, and desserts.

 If I had known that Cole had already consumed 7 brownies that afternoon, I would not have let him have dessert.

Showtime. Wayne's composition was the last before intermission. 

We listened to 14 student works, including Wayne's. Since intermission was right after his, we decided that was a good time to gracefully duck out for the long, rainy drive home.

All of this music sounded completely professional to me. I would never have guessed that it was all written by elementary, middle school, and high school students.

Wayne said that he wants to do the next Opus project as well, and that even if he doesn't have a piece that is chosen for the concert, he wants to attend the day and concert.

Making the Best of Gray April Days

The weather has been a bit gray and dreary, but we are enjoying the freedom to run around outside now that the snow is gone and the mud has tamed itself down.

Wayne has been baking up a storm. He's not interested in making your basic cookies, or brownies, or cake. No. He's interested in making more unusual desserts that call for white wine and ricotta cheese. Such as cannoli. 

rolling and cutting the dough for cannoli

cannoli are not healthy

frying in shortening

We do not have cannoli forms, so Wayne improvised by making some from tin foil.

Wayne says that when he's an adult, he's going to be a professional baseball player, a special effects movie engineer, and a baker with his own bakery.  He says that because he will be so busy with all of his careers, he is going to hire me to manage his bakery. However, when I took over frying so that he could go help Wes boil sap, he didn't look so confident in my abilities. The cannolis that I fried came apart and opened up. I like to call the "taco cannoli."

Disclaimer: the wine is in the shell so alcohol evaporated in the cooking process. Cannoli are safe for children to eat.

Finished product. The filling is made with rocotta cheese, confectioners sugar, and whipped cream.

Meanwhile, outside as I  mentioned was gray, but warm. Heather has been craving a bike ride. My bike had a flat tire and I couldn't figure out how to use Wes's new air compressor, so I walked along behind her.

We stopped and said a quick hello at Joanie's house. 

Then on to the barn.

We headed back home when the sprinkles began.

The spinkles stayed sprinkles and when we got home, we found Wayne and Cole flying kites that they had gotten for Easter.

This is Cole's alien kite before it got away from him in a strong wind and flew off free into the world somewhere.

More Easter Pics

Random photos of Easter. I wasn't very good about taking pictures.

We decorated eggs from our own hens.

Wayne made a pancake breakfast.

Happy Easter

The kids made a bunny cake for Easter dinner dessert.

Happy Easter!

First Dinner on the Porch

It hasn't been so pretty around here lately. These photos were taken on Saturday.

 Our vehicles are taking a beating from the driveway. Welcome to mud season.

 Spike still can't get to his dog house. Not that he's complaining.

 The hens are happy with the warmer temps.

 Today was a VERY warm day, even reaching up into the 70s in some places. Wayne, Cole, and Heather had dinner for the first time this year on the porch. You can see in the background that a lot of  the snow disappeared today.

First Boil

 The ground is still snow covered, but we've been enjoying mild temperatures. The sap has finally begun to run, which is good news for sugarmakers everywhere. And good news for Wayne, Cole, and Heather!

Heather takes her first taste of sap of 214.

 It's so nice to be outside without hats and mittens.

A fresh batch of maple syrup has led to Wayne making pancakes again for Sunday breakfast!

This is a weird picture.

10 Times Around the Sun

My grandmother used to refer to our birthdays as trips around the sun. Seems fitting, especially for Cole, who is so interested in space and astronomy. Cole has now made 10 trips around the sun.

His friends William and Zephyr came over after school.  They played for a while, had a trackster ride, and then it was time for dinner. Cole's favorite things: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad, and watermelon.

 We were a little crowded around the table. Zephyr and William were charming and entertaining. They had lots of stories to share about their lives.

 After dinner, the kids played a little more while the adults let the meal settle before diving into cake and ice cream.

 Cole asked for lemon layer cake. The frosting is lemon buttercream.

 Heather helped light the candles.

 William, Cole, and Zephyr.

Happy 10th Birthday Cole. We love you so much.

Congratulations Wayne!

You may remember from a previous post that Wayne has been composing some music after school as part of the Vermont Music Online Mentoring Program. Students may choose to submit a composition for possible selection for the Opus 28 concert, where they will be performed by professional musicians.

Around 80 student compositions were submitted this year,  20 are chosen for the performance. Wayne's piece, Resonance, was one of the ones chosen.

On April 30th he will travel to Ludlow and spend the day working with members of the VSO as they rehearse his piece. He will also attend various music workshops. A dinner is provided, and in the evening, the concert.

Here is a really cute video that sums it all up. This video was used for fundraising, and fundraising is now over for this event, so send no money, please. Also, there won't be any familiar faces. It was made locally, but not at our school. I just think it's a very entertaining video,  and explains the whole process better than I can.

And this is the final version of Wayne's composition that he submitted for the Opus 28 Concert.