Philadelphia International Music Festival: Part II

I just received these pictures from Maxim Kuzin who was kind enough to post them on Facebook and give me permission to use on my blog. He was the conductor for Lexie's orchestra, and was amazing. He is from the Ukraine, and as you can see had such a great time with the kids. Most of these kids who attended the PIMF range in ages between 10 to 18, and from what Lexie was telling me had a couple of ten year olds who are prodigies! It really inspired her to never give up on playing, or practicing because if these young 10, 11, 12 year olds can do it starting off at a young age then every child can do it, and continue to get better at playing too.

^^^ My young music geniuses!" -Maxim Kuzin ^^^

Having Lexie making it into the top two orchestras that played at the festival tells me that all those lessons, and hard work is paying off. She truly had an amazing experience and has been going through a bit of withdrawal lately. Not only is she missing her music peeps, but I think she's missing the intense feeling of playing the heck out of her violin the most. Music has become a huge part in her life, and she uses it for good. Music definitely touches the heart, mind, and soul. I personally don't know how to play an instrument, but one thing I do know is the feeling that it brings into life. 

Especially my life. 

I thought that with Sierra being gone I wouldn't be hearing too much of the piano being played, but I was wrong. As much as Lexie loves to play the violin she has been teaching herself to get better at the piano, and she is making some excellent progress. She along with her sister Chelsea have been learning to play the guitar as well. Having musical instruments constantly being played in the home brings solace, and moments of clarity. I'm especially grateful for all my girls to be so musically inclined. I never want them to give up on their dreams, or stop playing. I never want them to feel they are not good enough to enter into a university that is known to be a good music school. I never want them to not audition for an orchestra because you'll never know if you'll get in. 

Music has been around for centuries, and when its played depending on the genre and the mood you're in can really have an affect on our emotions. I love listening to all kinds of music, but especially the kind that brings goodness into our hearts. The kind that makes us happy. The kind that uplifts us. The kind that heals us. The kind of music we can listen to over and over again. The kind of music that Alexandra played last weekend. The kind that relaxes you yet builds so much energy to uplift you. And when you have a conductor like Maxim Kuzin that leads them in an orchestra who conducts with so much emotion...you'll definitely feel his energy as much as theirs. 

And you'll be leaving yearning for more. 

A Summer With The Orchestra.

Words cannot express how amazed I was at the summer band program that Lexie attended for the past two weeks. She was completely transformed & seemed different when she came home, but in a very good way. She really takes her violin seriously & has no intention of ever giving that up. As soon as we arrived for her grand finale concert she mentioned how next year there's a possibility of having the summer program being three weeks instead of two. So she'll definitely apply for the program next year and hopefully get another scholarship because this camp is not cheap! 

She has become a bit spoiled for the past two weeks being that she was surrounded by amazing musicians, involved in master classes, & taking private lessons from Barbara Govatos who is a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra. If I lived in Philly, and could afford lessons from her she would definitely be Lexie's teacher. She learned a lot in the two weeks she had lessons from her.

I can understand why Lexie said she was "spoiled" with this program because when you're surrounded by people who can actually play and know their exact measures and all the music jargon & other kids who really take their music seriously (in other words they practice) tells you that these kids are talented and don't mess around when it comes to music. 

Although she told me is was a pretty strict camp with attending classes all day, having a hall monitor that walks the hallways at a specific time to make sure they hear you practice, waking up everyday at 7am, and being in bed by 11pm she managed to enjoy her time with her new friends during her lunch hour! Luckily they had a beach trip to Ocean City, and a movie night to relieve any kind of stress. 

Although she was sore from playing so much on her first day she immediately got used to it. See...when you don't play as much and only practice for 30 minutes instead of two hours you're wrist will be sore for the first day or two. She literally put in about 22 hours of practicing in a 14 day period! I'd say that's a lot. Apparently they presented an award for "who practiced the most" and it was given to a young girl who practiced for 17 hours. When I asked Lexie how that could be when she practiced for more than 17 hours she said that apparently they gave everyone a sheet to log in their hours but misplaced hers, and didn't focus on jotting them down. (we later found it at home mixed in with her certificate, and music sheets!) She just wanted to practice and play. Obviously getting an award for "who practiced the most" didn't mean anything to her, and that's okay because she knows that she practiced. 

Going to her Grand finale concert this past weekend was a perfect end to my Fourth of July . Personally I don't think I would've wanted to be anywhere else. The entire day at this camp was filled with concert after concert with different composers and I can tell that all of these kids really worked hard & take their music seriously. They all played exceptionally well, and I'm so proud of how well she played. There was so much to record, but really wanted to sit back and enjoy the sounds of beautiful music so I only recorded two pieces. You can listen to them here, and here. I seriously got tired of holding my phone, and even more tired watching their arms! Totally amazing performances! 

I met a lot of her new friends & in an instant could distinguish how well they all played compared to a regular band in high school. The Wind Ensemble played a few pieces too, and because it was the Fourth of July I had to record a snippet of their performance which you can see here. If you listen carefully you can here the piccolo player in the background. She was awesome. They all played amazingly well too! Too bad Lexie's high school doesn't have an orchestra where she can get to pay the violin more. Although she loves piano the violin is definitely her forte. She hopes that she'll be pumped up for band this year being that she had an amazing experience with musicians who know their music, practice, and really know how to play! 

a dream come true with an orchestra.

Alexandra & her partner Nat tuning up and getting ready to head on to the stage to perform.

As parents we all want our children to succeed and to do their very best in the things that they love. Whether it's a favorite subject at school, a sport that they love, or an instrument that they love playing. With our love, help, words of encouragement, & continued support our children can succeed to their highest potential. 

Alexandra has been playing the violin for almost five years now, and has had three different teachers. She has learned something different from every one of them, and has taken those lessons and experiences that they have taught her with her as she continues to play the violin.  

As I have sat in on her lessons for the past year and a half with her current teacher Ms. Madeline I myself have learned a lot as well. Witnessing the student develop a relationship with their teacher is very important. I have learned that if the teacher has passion for music, so will the child. 

I am so grateful that she has learned so much within the past five years when it comes to music, the composers, and her instrument. She has a lot of passion for music and you can feel it as she plays. 

The concert was beautiful, and everyone played exceptionally well. I was very impressed, and I knew that they would sound amazing. 

Just listen for yourself:

The conductor had so much fun with these kids. In the end she mentioned how all of these kids had so much passion during rehearsals, and how quickly they learned four pieces in two days! That is how good this string ensemble is! 

And our daughter was in it y'all! 

I was lucky, and chose the perfect seats to watch her closely! I zoomed in as much as I could without trying to make the picture look grainy, and this is as good as the picture gets! 

Alexandra is so grateful to have had this opportunity to be a part of the All South Jersey Jr. Orchestra, and even though she didn't make it in at first she is so glad that she did try out, and for those seven viola players that didn't show up, hence having the cochairman choose the next seven from the original cut off list.

Alexandra wanted me to tell you this, "Don't ever ever give up on something you love to do. You should still audition even though its a competitive world out there. Have faith because you never know what can happen. Your dreams just might come true."

Smart words from a super smart & talented girl.

We are so proud of you Alexandra. Keep playing, and never give up your dreams!

Ever!

XO-Mom

anticipation.

When I received the email about Alexandra getting into the All South Jersey Orchestra a couple of weeks ago I didn't know what to expect. What I have felt for the past two days driving to Rowan University to drop off Alexandra for rehearsal has been euphoric.

Having my two younger kids tag along, and seeing them take an interest as to why Alexandra is going to a university to rehearse for eight hours was a good feeling.

When I walked behind the stage to take a peek at her yesterday I literally cried because they sounded so wonderful! I was thinking to myself, "Is this the orchestra she's playing with?" "Is she really going to be a part of this?" I was bawling! I love music, and when it involves any of our daughters I love it even more!

Chelsea & Noah are so proud of their sisters, and Chelsea mentioned that she hopes to be in an orchestra playing the cello, or singing with a choir someday. I said to her if you work hard enough, and practice every day for at least an hour or more you can make it into anything. Observing her two older sisters going to rehearsal for the orchestra, and choir is a motivator for her.

Tomorrow is Alexandra's performance, and I can hardly wait. She has improved so much within the past year playing her heart out on that violin, and she truly deserves to be a part of this!

Tickets are purchased, and I am ready to relax to hear our daughter play beautiful music with an outstanding orchestra tomorrow after church.

It's going to be a great first Sunday of 2013!