Concert Season

Yes, it's Christmas time, but more so for us it's concert time. Mike had his concerts last week and they went really well. His kids sounded good. The first concert was a combined concert with the college. There were a few mishaps at first- like the fact that everyone had to pay to get in after Mike had been told it was free. He ended up paying for all of the parents tickets (with school money). His band was first, and minus the few kids who weren't quite sure what accidentals were, it went very well. They looked great and I was proud of them. I took the kids and we were going to stay until the end to hear the combined numbers, but at 9:00 with no end in sight, Brayden wandering, Tyson pouting, and Anna crying, I decided it was time to call it a night.

The Jazz Band concert was the next night. They were great! It was a fun holiday concert. Mike had a few problems. He was listening to the balance as the band played the first song and backed up without knowing the edge of the stage was RIGHT THERE! He fell off. Poor guy. Every band teachers worst nightmare. That's why I'm a beginning band teacher. We have our concerts in the gym- a one-leveled surface. I would be falling every other minute. Anyway, he jumped right back up and acted like nothing happened. A number of kids from the middle school and Intermediate school had seen the concert and it was talked about for a day and luckily forgotten after that. Mike is doing fine if you were wondering.

My concert was last night. My kids were so cute. All 97 kids (just got another student) were so excited and nervous. The concert went very well- almost. They had never played the pieces together before. On one particular piece, the saxes were taking one tempo, the percussion another, and my student teacher yet another. My student teacher did a great job and cut them off and started over. It was a good lesson for the kids to not only watch the director, but also that mistakes happen and life goes on. The rest was just wonderful. I had a little Christmas tree set up decorated with candy canes. They each took one after the performance. The only sad thing was that I had a student move last night after the concert. His family had packed up 6 days ago and they were just waiting for him to finish the concert. He wrote me a very sweet note and I'm going to miss him. The 7th grade band played too and they sounded amazing! What a great group of musicians we have. I love it!

BTW, I am totally loving the Christmas season this year. I am excited to have a break and spend time with my sweet family. I can't wait to make neighbor treats, school goodies for the kids, and see the kids school programs. Usually I don't want to make the cookies and I'm overwhelmed by the amount of work that has to be done, but not so much this year. I hope it continues. Cheers!