Solo/ Ensemble Festival

Noel and Asher played in a solo and ensemble festival held at their school. It was only required to learn a solo, then play it for the orchestra teacher during class time. Those that wanted (or were pressured by their parents) could show up on a certain Saturday in March, and play in front of judges as well.

Asher worked hard on a piece from the movie Lord of the Rings. A friend on his, Spencer, accompanied him on the piano. They practiced hours and hours, for weeks. They preformed it at a Boy Scout Court of Honor before the festival. It sounded great.
Here is the orchestra teacher, Mrs. Riley, checking to see if Asher is ready to go.



He played beautifully, and got a "1" , the highest score possible. Spencer also did a fantastic job accompanying him.



Here is Spencer. Why is he smiling? Because this shot was taken after it was all over, and we went out for ice-cream! We all survived!

Noel also played a solo. She played "Morning" by Greig. She played it very accurately and confidently. The judge told both kids that they have very good ears, and are very in tune with their fingerings. She also got a "1"! Noel didn't like the solo experience much, so next time, she will just play in an ensemble. I'm very proud of her for trying it at least once.

Here is the quartet the kids played in. They are joined by a couple kids from the neighborhood... Lukas on bass on the left, and Emmee violin on the right. The McMullin hinkypunks are in the middle, with their orchestra teacher helping tune them in the back. They played a slower piece called Goin' Home by Dvorak. It was tricky getting all the kids together to practice in the weeks before the festival... I'm glad they persevered. The quartet also got a "1" rating.

(Just so you don't think the judges were tossing "1"'s out to everyone, very few other kids got that score. I think our kids did, because of the hours of practice they put in.)





Afterwards, we went down to the cinema cafe, for very large scoops of ice-cream. Sylvia had trouble with her icecream hitting her nose every time she licked it. She was a very co-operative sister through the whole festival. She sat and listened through almost a half hour of music. Everyone deserved icecream!