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.

Christmas and New Years

Better late than never - here is what we did over the holidays.

Christmas Eve, Heather and I make cinnamon rolls.

Christmas morning, the stockings.

Overnight cinnamon rolls, baked in the morning. The house smelled great. We had bacon too. And pancakes.

A little game of Christmas Monopoly, which Heather got for her birthday.

Opening the presents under the tree.

Wes took Cole and Heather over to see Joanie and Grammie, Peter, Jeanne, Katie and Lizzy. Wayne and I stayed behind so as not to spread his hand foot and mouth disease.  We did go outside for some fresh air and sledding. We built a ramp in the snow (below) and Wayne went flying. Later when we came back inside, we skyped with Joanie, Grammie and Co. and Wayne played  a game of Bolderdash with them via skype, while I got Christmas dinner ready. (Pork Roast, mashed potatoes, rolls, honey glazed carrots, stuffing, and green beans, eggnog, wassail) Unfortunately, Wayne's throat hurt so badly that he wasn't able to enjoy it.

A day or so later, Cole and Heather test out our ramp.

Heather got this inflatable "tube" sled for Christmas.

We had a nice time at Mary and Danny's for the big family celebration. I know there were lots of photos being taken. I'm sure Jeanne had them up on facebook in no time. It was great to see the next generation, so grown up now and on with their own lives. We missed those who could not make it to various flus and illnesses going around. Wayne was feeling pretty good by this time, but we told him to keep some distance because he could still be contagious until the rash disappeared.

With Wayne feeling better, he, Heather, I made a trip to Maine to see my mom and bring her gifts. We had dinner with her at her assisted living facility (pork tenderloin with mustard cream sauce, mashed potatoes, salad, fruit, and ice cream sundae.) They have an old pipe organ there, donated by my childhood church. Wayne figured out how to use it and played some of his piano music for her. Heather played a little too, but they had not brought sheet music, so it was hard to remember whole pieces.

We had some warm days and rain, then some cold days which turned the pond into a nice, smooth skating rink.

Cole skating.

We spent Christmas eve day skating like crazy.

I didn't get a picture of Wayne skating before he left to hunting for the last afternoon of partridge season. No luck.

 Monday will be a rude awakening, but the kids are looking forward to "winter activities." It's part of their physical education class. Every monday for most of the winter Cole and Heather will be bussed to the indoor rink for ice skating and Wayne will go skiing at Burke Mountain. (It's totally free for 7th and 8th graders, including rentals. Can you believe that?) Some of their friends will go to Craftsbury for cross country skiing. 

January will be a busy month with Opus 29 coming right up. Let's hope we stay healthy!

Happy New Year!

Heather's Birthday Party

Heather's birthday was yesterday, but she had her party today. 

She decorated her own cake.

We invited her class over for a bonfire sledding and skating party. 

We dug out all the spare skates we could find.

There are 11 kids in Heather's class besides her.  Some families have already started their holiday travelling, but 6 kids came. (also there are several December birthdays in that classroom and I think some of the parents have reached their limit.)

The party started off with some sledding.

The snow was fast.

A short video to show her speed.

Then there was pizza and hot cocoa around the fire.

A traxter ride to the pond.

We had little rainbow colored electric tea lights around the skating area. This was all I could get for a picture.

Then inside for cake and ice cream.

The reindeer pinata. No one come between Heather and a baseball bat!

Here are some christmas things that have been happening around here lately.

Just One More

I feel like I'm on a roll with the music posts lately. This will be the last one for a while, I think. (Until the Opus 29 concert anyway.)

Heather was invited to sing with the high school chorus in their winter concert. The song is called "When You Believe" from the Prince of Egypt. The choral director wanted some younger voices for parts of the arrangement. Please excuse the screaming toddler at the beginning of this video - she was dancing around on the bleachers and fell, giving herself a good whack on the noggin.

I made Wayne and Cole come so they could hear what a high school chorus and band sounds like. It's amazing what a difference a couple of years make. 

Wayne in the Newspaper

Wayne found his way into the newspaper again, thanks to the middle school winter concert.

First of all a little background on how our music department works - all students who choose to learn an instrument are automatically in the "OCSU concert band." Above and beyond that, some students are invited to join the jazz band. As a 5th grader, Cole can only play in the big band. If he works hard, he may someday be invited to join the jazz band. Wayne participates in both the big band and the jazz band. This year, his teacher asked him to play piano for the jazz band.

You can barely see the top of his head on the other side of the piano, below.

Below, the chorus sang a song called "Sound the Trumpets" and Dante and Wayne had the honor of playing the accompaniment.

Cole also sang with the chorus. He's towards the right.  Wayne and Dante are ready with their trumpets.

Below, Cole plays saxophone and Wayne plays trumpet with the big band.

Opus 29

Wayne did it again. His music composition piece was selected for Opus 29. He will once again get the chance to work with professional musicians as they rehearse his piece and attend the concert as it's premiered in front of a live audience.

 January 12, 2015 (snow date Jan 14) at Elley-Long Music Center at Saint Michael's College, Colchester VT.  

Opus 29 features piano, brass, and voice (Although Wayne chose not to use voice). His piece is called Persistence. Congratulations Wayne. We are very proud of you! (Below, click on the little arrow in the upper left to listen)

Meanwhile, Cole has bee revising "Death Rings Over the Valley" to submit for Opus 30, which will take place in the spring and once again feature string instruments. (click on the little arrow to listen)