Well, Olivia has had 5 days of lessons, workshops, individual and group practices and it all comes down to today.
She had her recital in the UNCG Music School's Organ Hall. They didn't have to play on the room's beautiful pipe organ, tho. She did an amazing job, but I wasn't allowed to video the performance.
Later that afternoon, she participated in the group choir event, which was a requirement for all Music Camp participants.
Olivia got a chance to attend her first summer music camp at UNCG for piano.
Getting to walk around our old alma mater with her was an interesting experience. So much has changed, but most of it is the same, even after 25 years (GOOD GOD, I'M OLD!).
She was so excited to be able to room with her good friend, Sarah, for the week.
These guys work so hard to improve at their piano and it shows!
Gabe didn't have the easiest term and has decided that he will not continue with piano lessons. He has asked to try playing the drums, which isn't exactly something we are cool with, so we are narrowing it down to playing the bells and snare drum in the High Point Homeschool Beginners Band. If he does well and works hard, we can see about going further with that...
In the meantime, we are very proud of him for sticking with piano for three years and thankful to Cathy Lamb for all her hard work and patience with him.
Olivia continues to excel at her piano studies. She going to attend UNCG's piano camp this summer, giving her a taste of college life a little early! She does so well and works so hard that we can't possibly complain about the results!
After another long term of practice and lessons, it was time for the spring piano recitals. One thing we've wanted is for the kids to each have at least two years of piano. It builds so many great things! Discipline, artistic talent, an appreciation for music of all kinds and possibly an open door to new instruments if they want to try something else. If, after two years, they decide they don't want to continue, that's fine, but they'll at least come out on the other end having tried and learned something new.
Gabe worked so hard on his piece. He struggles with frustration when he can't seem to get things right and the spring recital is always harder. The kids have to memorize their pieces, which just adds that extra degree of difficulty to an already hard piece. He made it through and has said that he wants to continue through the summer and fall, so we'll see how things fare this winter.
Olivia continues to work on her music and Ms Lamb has really pushed her this year with difficult lessons and pieces. This one was 4 whole pages that Olivia had to memorize! So far, she's certainly our most musically inclined child and could go far if she wants to put in the effort.
We're so proud of both of them for the hard work they put in and for persevering through the tougher times when they don't feel like continuing. I think the end result shows that they both have some solid skill and talent that will serve them well in life!
It's time again for the kids' piano recitals and we couldn't be more proud. Both Gabe and Olivia worked so hard and their diligence paid off. Their spring recitals always involve memorizing their pieces, so it makes it so much harder.
Unfortunately, Gabe's video didn't come out, but he was PERFECT! He was nervous about making a mistake, so we got there early enough for him to practice his piece and he knocked it out of the park. Later, I had him play it at home so I could record it.
Olivia had her Spring Recital today. She did wonderfully. It amazes me each time just how much she improves and how hard she works to learn her songs.
There's no question in my mind that Olivia's got a lot of talent and can go as far as she wants to with her music.
As usual, the kids got some running-around time along with some snacks afterwards
It's not often that I get a decent picture of all 5 kids, but today I was able to get 3! :) Unfortunately, the wind was blowing, so it was hard to keep it out of the littles' faces.
Olivia continues to amaze us with how much she improves on the piano each season. This particular piece took a long time for her to master, but she did it! Her teacher, Ms. Lamb, gave her the option of just doing the first movement, but Olivia was determined to do them both.
She worked really hard at it and it all came together. We couldn't be more proud of her drive. :)
Our beautiful musician with her flowers from Nana and Pop-Pop, who came to support her as always! :)
Olivia had another recital today and she did wonderfully! As a dad, I'm anxious for her whenever these things come around. I really want her to do well because I know how hard she's practiced. This time, we picked a version of My Dreidel that was pretty tough for her. It was fairly long and had a key change in it that took her a while to master. I really can't express how proud I am of her and how well she's been doing with her lessons and practicing.
Afterwards, There were the usual collection of cookies and since it was a nice day, we took them outside to eat. Nana and Pop-pop came to support Olivia and gave her some beautiful flowers and a candy cane. :)
After their cookies, they burned off some of that excess energy.
Last Spring at Co-op, Olivia learned about Scott Joplin, who is probably the most famous ragtime composer in history. His song "The Entertainer" has been one of my favorites for many years. The speed and quirky rhythms are really fascinating to me to listen to and Olivia thought so, too. We asked her piano teacher to help Olivia learn it and went through a couple of versions of varying difficulty until we found one that was a challenge, but still within her range.
Olivia had her spring piano recital last weekend and did such a wonderful job! Ms. Lamb challenged her (and her other students) to memorize her piece, which was Bach's Minuet in G. Olivia was chosen to go first because she is one of her strongest and most confident students and wouldn't be shaken by being the first to perform. Sure enough, she was great!
Nana, Grandpa and Grandma were all on-hand to cheer her on.
Olivia had her first recital with her new piano teacher. Ms Lamb has really challenged Olivia and we've seen such huge improvement from week to week. She has Olivia playing pieces from several different books, some of which are true classical pieces that we recognize. (The boys often recognize them from Little Einsteins. :) Olivia has shown great diligence in practicing every day and working hard at her lessons to master each piece. For this recital, she chose a traditional Hanukkah song. It wasn't the easiest piece to master, but she worked so hard and that hard work paid off!
The kids have all been taking some form of music instruction this spring. The boys have been going to Kindermusik with Miss Maggie and have had a wonderful time. Ezra sometimes is reluctant to participate, but when he's at home, he is singing the songs and doing the motions that they learned in class, so we know he's picking it up.
this last week marked the end of the spring session and the last class was a family day, so all the kids got to participate.
Ezra can be particular about which activities he does, but when he picks one, he really has fun with it.
The kids just adore Miss Maggie.
The great part is that Maggie also does private piano lessons, so we signed Olivia up for lesson at home. She just had her first recital the evening before Irene was born. She was a little nervous at first, but, since she was in the middle of the program, she saw the other kids doing it and had no problem when it was her turn.
She will certainly be continuing her practice and lessons this summer and fall.
