Conner played in his first junior festival and as you can see . . . Superior with Honors . . . he did great!
We have never participated in a festival before (let alone, even heard of them). Because Conner's teacher is a member of the Las Vegas music teacher's association, her students get to participate. For the past few months he has been working on fine-tuning the 2 pieces he was going to play at festival.
Here's a little peek into our day: We showed up at the UNLV campus and followed the signs
Then upstairs to our assigned classroom. According to the schedule sheet we had a 5 minute time slot.
The hallway was a busy, busy place with families & students. Volunteers watched the doors, letting people in and out at the appropriate times.
Conner and I made our way in to the empty classroom. There was a piano. A few chairs. Seated at a table facing the piano was the judge and an assistant (for paperwork). We only had to wait a moment and it was go time! Conner introduced himself, bowed, and took his seat at the piano.
The rules were pretty strict -- no clapping in between pieces (only at the end). No videotaping. No flash photography. I casually took these photos with my iphone while it sat in my lap. I don't think I was breaking any rules, but I didn't want to be conspicuous.
Soon he was done, and after another bow we made our way out of the room. He had played his songs perfectly! One minor note slip, but it was barely noticeable.
Then it was waiting time -- it would take about 20 minutes before we could pick up his music and certificate. So we decided to walk around campus a bit and get some photos.
I'll have you know that every single Sunday I get a comment from somebody at church on how cute Conner is, or well-mannered, or great in class, or how he knows the scriptures so well, or how reverently he passes the sacrament . . . . Every single Sunday. Today was no exception. It makes for a pretty proud mama.
Then we made our way back inside to get his things
And we were thrilled to see his ranking!
We were told that "Superior with Honors" is the highest ranking you can get. Way to go, Conner!
It was a very good experience. I like that it is not a competition -- the kids are not being judged against each other. They are only being evaluated against themselves. So it is a great opportunity to practice performing while at the same time getting some constructive feedback.
Here is a video I shot at home of his two piano pieces. You'll notice he's playing on the keyboard (which sounds great). Our piano is still horribly out of tune from sitting in storage for 7 months and enduring 2 moves. I'm working on getting that remedied right now.
