The Last Orchestra Concert of the Year

 Nolan performed in his last orchestra concert of the year on Thursday night, May 22nd.  

As a sixth grader, Nolan plays cello in the beginning orchestra which would kick off the night and they played six or seven shorter songs.  Then the middle school advanced orchestra played a couple of songs, followed by the high school orchestra.  At the end of the night, all of the groups came together for one grand finale.  

Nolan has really come a long way since he first started playing back in August of 2024, and I know that he will only continue to improve as he plays again this coming school year.  Here are a couple of pictures from last night (and many thanks to my friend Emily for getting a couple of pictures from the balcony.)

At one point in the concert, Nolan even had a speaking part.  He did really well, speaking slow and clearly enough for everyone to understand.

At the end of the concert, all of the orchestras were called out together for one final song.  We were finally able to find Nolan after searching for a while.  He was about three rows back and right between two older high schoolers.  I thought that they did a really good job, especially since they didn't get the music until the week before and they only practiced it all together the hour before the concert started.

On a sidenote, I think Nolan grew over three inches this past winter and the amount of leg that is showing with every pair of his long pants proves it!!  I am glad that it's now warm enough that he can wear shorts while I dig up some longer pants. LOL

Nolan and His Cello

 At the beginning of the summer, Nolan attended Orchestra camp for a week.  Now that school has started, he has been going to the middle school every morning so that he can participate in the middle school orchestra where he is learning how to play the cello.  Then he rides a bus back to his school where he continues the rest of his school day.  

When we first signed Nolan up, I wasn't sure that he would enjoy it, but he really does seem to love learning and playing the cello and that has been so fun for us to watch.

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Nolan put on a short concert over the weekend.  

Up to that point, he had not been allowed to use the bow yet as they were learning to play "pizzicato" or just plucking with their fingers while learning notes and where to place their fingers on the strings.

Both of his older sisters were home and were able to hear him.  They both loved it, to say the least!

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I took this picture on Monday when he was using his fingers to pluck the strings once again but he had taught himself two new songs and he had already improved over his weekend performance.

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On Tuesday night, he came home from school and was very excited because he had been given permission to begin playing with their bow.  He was taught how to care for the bow and how to use it on the cello and then he came home and played a couple more songs for us using his new knowledge.  

Here is the link if you want to hear his first song.   

I cannot wait to see how much he improves in the weeks ahead!