Instrumental Music Program Concert - first of the year
Posted by schoolspirit on 24 June, 2008
It may be halfway through the year already, but tonight we held our first official Instrumental Music Program Concert. The School Band has played at a few school functions and assemblies throughout the year already, but this was the first time all of the kids involved in the instrumental music program had the chance to perform as one group in one place. Ten of the seventeen kids involved had never played in front of an audience before.
The short story - it was fantastic. Fifteen families were involved but we still managed to pull a crowd of nearly sixty people, and raised $67 in gold coin donations at the door as well. That’ll go nicely towards maybe some new music for the beginners, or towards servicing some of the instruments.
While it only lasted just over an hour, the hype and excitement on the kids’ faces was great, particularly the beginners. The band kids are just about all old hands at this and took it all in their stride, but it appears the program is in good shape for what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. The immediate future looks particularly bright.
Highlight of the night? The band was playing to close the show at the very end and performed their two pieces well, but to cap it all off, we brought all of the kids together to play a finale blues piece, without music, that the beginners had only learnt with one practice this afternoon. Add some adlib solos from three of the band kids in the middle and we had a strong, loud, brash and bold seventeen piece band blasting away, two thirds of them having only picked up their instruments three months ago.
Yeah, I’m just a little stoked at the moment!
June 25th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Music is terrific for kids to learn. Not the crap that pop stars now are spouting, but things like beethoven, jazz, blues, all that good stuff.
Also, I have a question, how do you draw the strip and how long does it take? Characters always look so perfectly drawn from one frame to the next.
June 26th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Not much classical stuff we’re teaching, I must admit. The kids are playing Indiana Jones and a few movie themes and their current favourite is a quick and nasty novelty piece about a mosquito featuring the trumpet buzzing through only his mouthpiece. Makes the little kids at assembly laugh their heads off.
How long does the strip take? About an hour and a half to two hours, I suppose, for each one. I admit sometimes the characters are reused from one strip to another where their posturing will fit, but I guess I’ve just become used to drawing the kids this way. They’re never perfectly drawn, either! More often than not I’m scribbling through the inking bit and I don’t bother with white out and stuff like that. Thanks for the words though, it’s good to see my imperfect ways are looking good enough to impress!
Cheers.