Concert time

Last night we listened to the 6th grade band concert. Its a fun and energetic bunch of kids that are completing their first year of school band here in our school system. Which makes the music they produce all the more entertaining. Some of the kids are really very good musicians and some are just really good kids. Their enthusiasm is fun to watch.

Halfway through one of the songs on the program two kids in the percussion session started bobbing up and down in time with the music. After each song one of the boys in the clarinet section would take a swooping bow and then raise his hands above high above his head to acknowledge the applause. At an earlier Christmas (ahem, excuse me- "Winter") program one of the tuba players ran an extension cord onto the stage into which he plugged a string of Christmas lights that decorated his instrument. And last year a little guy with a floppy mop of curly hair was so energetic that he reminded us of the Muppet drum players. He joyously beat out the rhythm on his snare drum, hair flopping up and down and a huge grin on his face. Music just doesn't get any funner than that.

Tonight we get to attend the the Big 9 High School Music Festival in Austin, MN, where all the bands, choruses and orchestras from the nine high schools in the region assemble for a day of music. The finale is a performance by the Select Band (Select Chorus and Select Orchestra) which is essentially an all-star high school band. In years past the music these Select groups produce has been magnificent. And coming this close off the heals of the 6th grade concert, it will once again be a reminder of just how quickly children grow up. It almost seems overnight that they go from being Muppet-like performers to being the tuxedo-clad high schoolers. And yet, in spite of the noticeable improvement in the quality of their music, the youthful exuberance remains.

I love concert time!