ILMEA District Festival

All three of the kids auditioned into ensembles and got to participate in the District 3 ILMEA Festival today at Olivet Nazarene University!  They had to be at school at 6:45 this morning, and I will be honest, it was NOT a good morning getting them out the door by 6:30.  Yikes.  But, they all enjoyed the morning of rehearsals and the music they learned and directors they got to work with!

Jeremy and I went up for the concerts in the afternoon, and all 6 ensembles were fantastic! 

The Junior Orchestra, Band, and Chorus concert started at 2pm.  

  

   We loved seeing Caeden up there singing his heart out!
The only way for me to get pictures of their faces was to wait for them to come on the jumbotron. 

 (In this picture, Caeden is in the upper left corner, 2nd from the left, 2nd row from the top.  He's wearing a white shirt.)

 Centennial Chapel is such a beautiful facility and great place to perform.  All the kids and directors LOVE going there.  

I only took little clips of video because Olivet recorded the concert and sold professionally made DVD's, which will be sent to us in a couple weeks.

VIDEO: This piece is very special to me, as Chapel Choir opened every Christmas Festival concert with it.  I loved working on it with Caeden, and especially loved seeing him get to experience the magic of singing it with a great choir!

 Here Caeden is right in the center of the picture. He said he had a lot of fun, made several new friends, and really enjoyed the day.  After he confirmed that, we reminded him that last year he complained about sitting and watching the concerts all day when his sisters were in them, and he said he would never even want to try out.  We are so glad he changed his mind, and that he got to have this experience learning and making great music!

Annah sang in the Senior Chorus.

VIDEO: a little snippet of rehearsal of The Tree of Peace
 

VIDEO: Just a snip of Miniyama Nayo

 Though she is shy and said she didn't talk to anyone all day, she loved singing in this group and really enjoyed the music and the director.  

 Sylvia played her cello in the Senior Orchestra.  They were amazing!

VIDEO: This is just the beginning 30 seconds of the Tschaikovsky, but every time I go to upload it, I get nabbed for not owning the rights to what the internet thinks is a professional recording.  It was amazing, and I can't wait to get the dvd of this concert!

Yep, we are proud parents!  These ensembles were absolutely fantastic, and it is a great honor to get to perform at this level.  What a fantastic day!