The Opening Play-In has been a long-standing, very special
event at the string school. The day begins with a group performance by the
students, led by their teachers and our accompanist. It is amazing to hear how
wonderful the students sound together, even after the summer break! After this
half-hour of playing together, the students are treated to a short concert or
demonstration by some of our finest local professional musicians. In the past
12 years, some of the featured performers have been early music and
baroque specialists, some of them in period costume, a professional
cellist, the symphony viola section playing the beautiful Bach Brandenburg
Concerto No. 6, a violin and oboe duo and a trumpet player. We have even had a
demonstration on how a pipe organ works and a bagpiper performing for the
students as well. They just loved marching out with her! This year, our students got a taste of something a little different. Larry Larson on trumpet and his buddy Ian Whitman on bass, gave the kids and parents a taste of jazz. It was so interesting to hear how each of them got their start in music and about the events in their lives that have led them to be able to play both jazz and classical styles of music. Larry and Ian played a lovely tune, "Summertime" by Gershwin, and they played it "straight" so that the kids could hear the tune as it was on the written page - then jazzing it up and improvising. Lots of heads were bobbing and toes were tapping today! Other favourites that were played today by this dynamic duo were "I Got Rhythm", "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", the theme to the Flintstones cartoon show, and an amazing rendition of the Miles Davis tune, "So What". Thank you Larry and Ian!
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