The Gala Finale Orchestra Concert

At the end of May, I had my final orchestra concert of the year. We have a total of three concerts every year. On the day of the concert, we had to come early because we had a dress rehearsal in a gorgeous hall. When we got of stage after our dress rehearsal, we brought our lunches and our games and played for an hour until it was time for us to go on stage.
 

Here are the songs we played: The first song we played sounded slow and sad.Some violins had a solo part, and they played the high notes which usually is the melody and the rest of the violins played the lower notes. The second song sounded very fast and happy, but it wasn't my favorite.  The next song we played was also very slow, but I thought sounded the most beautiful. It was my favorite.   The final song was also very fast and loud. The cellos started playing first and carried the melody, but then the violins took over and we all played together. Which was your favorite?

In front of the concert hall

• Recuerdos De La Alhambra By Francisco Tarrega
• David and Michael By Carrie Lane Gruselle
• Along the River By Elena Roussanova
• Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest By Hans Zimmer

Once we finished our part, the older children in the philharmonic played their pieces. They sounded amazing, and they even had a soloist sing some opera pieces.  Since it was our last orchestra concert, we had a reception for everyone that performed that day.  It was also a chance for me to see up close some large percussion instruments. Do you know their names?

At the reception we had cookies, cupcakes, and drinks.  We were all tired and hungry and it was the perfect ending to a long day.  Next year I am going to try out for first violin and see if I make it. I hope I do!

Which is your favorite instrument in an orchestra?

Piano Competition

Last weekend, I had a piano recital to prepare for my piano competition. The recital was at my home because we have a baby grand piano. My little sister Hannah also played at the recital, and it was her first performance  She is  five years old and played 3 pieces, Dance of the Swans from Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky, Sick Dolls by Tchaikovsky, and Clowns by Kabalevsky . After her, I played Sonata in D major Hob. 16 No 37 by Hadyn. Last, but not least, Miriam also played a Sonata by Haydn in C major.  The two sonatas were very different. My Aunt, Uncle, grandma, and grandpa all came to the recital. After the recital, my dad made dinner for everyone. 

The real competition was a week later at a piano store. Before we performed, we got to pick a piano and practice on it at the store. Some of the pianos that we used for warm up were connected to head phones so we wouldn't distract the other competitors while they performed in front of the judges. There were 2 judges listening  to us perform. My teacher said that I performed very well and didn't make many mistakes. The piano we used to perform was a Bosendorfer grand piano. Is is one the most prestigious piano in the world and it is hand-built in Vienna, Austria. It sounded beautiful. 

It is 6 pages long!

The sonata that I played was written by Haydn in 1780 for the Auenbrugger sisters. They were Viennese patrons that Haydn met while working as court musician for Prince Esterhazy. The sisters where accomplished piano players in Europe. Hadyn therefore composed this sonata to be challenging for even talented performers.

Since they didn't allow anyone in the room while we played for the judges, my mom recorded me playing a week earlier at the recital.

Do you like Haydn's music?

Sonata Opus 49 No 2 by Beethoven

During the classical period (1750- 1827) people were just learning to compose for the piano.The first piece written for the piano was in 1732 by an Italian composer Lodovico Giustovi.

Beethoven wrote music during the classical period . He was born in Germany in 1770 and died in 1827 at the age of 56.  Beethoven pieces are  divided into 3 periods, early, middle and late.  During the middle period starting in 1801, Beethoven started to become deaf when he was just 28 years old. The Sonata Opus 49 No 2 was written in 1805 when Beethoven moved away from traditional classical music and became even more creative.Beethoven created a new era of music called the Romantic period.

Beethoven gave his first performance when he was seven. As a teenager Beethoven traveled to Vienna, Austria and got to play for the great composer Mozart. Mozart was very impressed with Beethoven's talent and told people to watch out for him. 

My sister Miriam plays a piece by Beethoven called Fur Elise. It is one of her favorite pieces. Beethoven wrote that piece when he was deaf.

Sonata Opus 49 No 2 is considered one of Beethoven's easiest Sonata, but it is not very easy for me. It is especially difficult to play it fast without making mistakes. Here is me playing Sonata Opus 49 No.2 Part I.

Have you ever heard of Beethoven's music?

Do you like it?

My Fall Orchestra Concert

In September, I auditioned to play violin for the junior orchestra. For the audition, I had to play two songs and three scales that I learned. During the audition, the conductor gave me a piece of music I had never seen before, and asked me to play it to make sure I know how to sight read (read music notes). I was really nervous because there were many older kids waiting in line with us. After I played, the conductor told me that I made it in and I was really excited. We practice every Saturday from 9:00 am until 11:30 am. The conductor is really nice and she decides the songs we will play for our concert.  Everyone in the orchestra must practice their part during the week on their own so that when we play together it sounds good.

In November, we had our first concert of the year. We played Themes From Harry Potter, by John Williams, Hansel and Gretel, by Engelbert Humperdinck, Holiday Dances by Mark Williams, and Trepak which is from The Nutcracker by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

The day of the concert was very busy. We had to arrive early in the morning because we had a dress rehearsal. Everyone had to have black skirt or pants, white shirt, and black shoes. We played each song just once on stage because there was an older orchestra group waiting to rehearse. After the dress rehearsal, we had lunch and rested before the concert. When I was finished playing, we stayed and watched the older kids play. They played beautifully. Their pieces were really hard. I hope will someday play in adult orchestra!

Below is a video of part of our performance. At first my mom had a hard time finding me, but by the third song (minute 4:35 in the video) she finally figured out where I was sitting. 

What did you think of our performance? 

Have you ever been to a real concert?