Silver Oak's Talent Show - Two Grenadiers

David Performs the Two Grenadiers

It was time for the annual elementary school talent show. Hours of rehearsal sessions and finally the evening of the performance.  David played Two Grenadiers by Robert Schumann.

He did a splendid job.  The performance was recorded on YouTube.

The talent show concluded with a grand finale.  The entire ensemble returned to the send off.  It was cute (you can see it in the video).  

It was a long but enjoyable evening for us parents.  We started the day at 4:30 am - drove to ice skating, then to school, then work - including presenting a webinar, the errands (SMOG, exchange purchases, buy bike tire) and then piano lessons.  We drove to the performance at 7:00 and started to drive home at 9:00 pm.  We got to bed some time around 11:00 and we were all exhausted but the day ended on a wonderful note (pun intended).

David's Piano Recital - May 17, 2014

Piano Recital

David performed in a professional and polished manner this evening. He played two pieces:  Minuetto and In Church. They were both written by Ludwig Schytte.   He performed them as a member of the Pacific Piano School in San Jose on May 17, 2014.  

His Minuetto and In Church performances are available on YouTube.

As you can see he may be small but he takes his performance very seriously.

This may seem like just another recital to you but this was a hard one. The pieces are reasonably straightforward, but he had a very difficult time memorizing them, particularly In Church.  

Part of it may be the heavy tone of In Church.  David is a very happy kid and In Church is a bit somber.  Here is Minuetto and In Church with notations:

Whatever the reason, this required a big Pokemon payout. He earned one each time he had a successful lesson and practice.

It was an interesting parenting experience.  Pushing him on the one hand, but giving him the choice to pursue it or not on the other. Emphasizing the importance of perseverance, while being sensitive to the mental blocks he was creating for himself. 

He has learned and performed much harder pieces.

In Church was not memorized until today.  He played it several times last night.  Over 5 times this morning and then a few times before the recital.  He nailed it just before the performance.  We were and are quite proud of him - mostly for sticking with it when it was really hard for him.  He is an amazing young man and entertaining in ways he does not yet understand or appreciate (above and beyond the music).

Etude in A

Etude in A

Life gets to busy and the deadlines are always right at your day.

This is an excerpt of a video of David practicing Etude in A at the end of the day.  I thought I would share it with you.

A child's music is a wonderful way to fill the house with music and for a moment forget about the endless details of daily life.

(Oh yes, David is doing well and as you can see growing his hair longer and longer each day.)