Dear Mom, Music is nice.

Du holde Kunst, in wieviel grauen Stunden. . . .

. . . .Hast mich in eine beßre Welt entrückt!

from An die Musik  ~  Schubert

Week of March 3 – 9

Two band concerts this week, the debut performance of Rocky Mountain Mormon Youth Chorale (for which I had the honor to play), and Hummer began formal recorder studies at school. I’m glad our life is still music-full. :)

This here is Fluffy, just before leaving for his 7th grade band concert. He is really loving playing the trombone and is making great progress on it. I think it is super awesome that he can still participate in that while he’s homeschooled. Yay for CO!

Wednesday morning was Exacto’s band’s opportunity to compete in a regional doo-hickey. Fluffy and Rosebud and I went to hear them.

Exacto had a solo, which I simply must include here, partly because you asked me to and also because it was just beautiful and I want to show it off.

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Exacto–luscious solo

Then he had to stay for a while so we found a nearby park to hang out whilst we waited for him.

Fluffy’s teacher said he had to study, which he did in the car. But Rosebud was in heaven.

Rocks – boulders – in landscaping are tres chic here in the Front Range.

Later we compromised because Fluffy insisted he could study and play at the same time. :)

It worked pretty well, actually. Here he is reading Helen Keller’s The Story of My Life. :)

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Hummer is doing Recorder Karate at his schmancy charter school. (I was happy to discover that they do that program here. Fluffy and Exacto were both black belts in Recorder Karate back in Arkansas. :)

He is already quite accomplished at it, and can even play a duet with himself.

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Hummer–self-duet with decidedly modern harmonies

 

Not satisfied with that considerable achievement, being Hummer after all, he is already headed off into the sunset toward new frontiers, new mountains to conquer. . . .

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Yep.

Another thing I absolutely love about his school is the art curriculum. They are always doing the coolest projects and they keep them all from the parents until the end of the year, making us salivate with anticipation. Gargoyles (shaped in clay and then glazed and fired!), medieval shields, a 3D monogram, and recently, a collage study of the Taj Mahal.

I still haven’t seen Hummer’s, but he came home and offered to teach me how they did it. So here are my planning sketches and then finished collage of Taj Mahal.

The highlight of the week was getting to play for the RMMYC, which has been organized by our stake president for all the seminary-age youth in Fort Collins and Loveland. The conductor? Head of the CSU music department. Accompanist? A friend in our ward, also professional level. And the choir, made up of radiant youth (including Exacto), is sounding just fabulous. It was such an honor to be asked to help with two songs for their first performance, which was stake conference. I played the piano for a glorious arrangement of Beautiful Savior, and covered the flute and oboe obbligatos on the organ for Mack Wilberg’s My Shepherd Will Supply My Need.

So since I had to play for a rehearsal Saturday evening, sweet Fluffy made dinner for us – a baked ziti, french bread, and a lovely salad. It was great! He is great.

Notice Exacto’s smooth evasion of the camera. . . .

And so, while DC studies all day every day about how to become a super-great occupational therapist, I guess the rest of us have picked up his musical slack. :)

Love,

Michelle