On the 4th of April we held our annual Spring Gala concert. It is a musical evening organized by the music department of our school for solo performances, voice and instrumental ensembles and bands. As an IB Music student and a member of the school concert band this was a great opportunity for me to share my musical ability with everyone.
This year the concert band played a “Blues Brothers” medley and “Soul Bossa Nova”, two music pieces from two different genres. It helped me to identify the different playing techniques used in the two genres.
The concert band had many rehearsals after school to prepare for the Spring Gala performance with Ms Duncan our music teacher who is also the band conductor. “Soul Bossa Nova” is a piece with a lot of syncopation and it was very hard for me to play at first because I have only been playing the cello for a year and find it hard to play syncopated passages so I got help from my private music teacher and she said that slow practice is all I need. The “Blues Brothers” medley is also very fast and lively piece but I was able to manage it. Both pieces sounded awesome at the dress rehearsal and our music teacher was very proud of all of us.
The concert started off with the concert band and it was great way to get the audience pumped up for the remaining performances.
The SAISA choir was asked to sing “You Will Be Found” with the Gecko Singers at the Spring Gala because there weren’t enough Gecko Singers. This once again gave me the opportunity to experience singing on stage. I wasn’t at all nervous for this performance and this is probably because SAISA Music has given me confidence to sing on stage.
Gecko Singers and the SAISA Choir singing ‘You Will Be Found”
Ms McQuillan, our school principal has asked the SAISA Choir to sing “Homeward Bound” at the net school assembly. I am nervous for this performance but I need to tell myself that I shouldn’t be because I have already sung this song before. Ms Duncan our music teacher has asked us to come and rehearse this song with her, so I have been going for rehearsals giving up my lunch time. Singing “Homeward Bound” has brought back all the SAISA Music memories and makes me excited for next year’s SAISA Music.