At the beginning of the concert, four of the percussion ensemble opened up. They played a little bit and let people find seats, allowing them to continue to search for seats for families and friends. By the end of everyone preparing themselves for the show, the place was a full house. When Mr. Thomas spoke, the lights dimmed and everyone was focused on the musicians and the conductor.

    As the students came to the stage, they came from every direction. The first set of students was the percussion ensemble. They gave an amazing performance with the two songs that they presented. The first song was a happy song about a child and how they grew. The second was a baby lullaby that was very soft and quieter than the first. Both songs had emotion and character to them and you could see how hard they practiced for this day. All of the songs were recorded and are going up soon so you may listen to them as well.

    When the percussion ensemble ended their performance, they started to move the instruments and got the chairs out for the next group. The next group of musicians was a bit different from other high schoolers. The next group was many eighth-graders from Thunder Valley Middle School transferring to Frederick as freshmen next year. The eighth-graders played four songs before the next group and were amazing. They had little to no mess-ups and the students were very eager to show what they got and practiced. Many of the instruments that they used were woodwind and string with only two percussions in the background.

  At this point in the performance the eighth graders got up and bowed toward the audience. They exited backstage and let some other middle schoolers come onto the stage. They came from the back left of the auditorium and walked up with purpose. As they came up to the stage they all found their seats and set up for their share of the performance. Another conductor came up and explained who they were and how they have been practicing for this performance to show everyone. They played their songs and everyone clapped with glee, the students showed that they were happy to play and ended their performance.

    The night ended with an upbeat song that was happy all the way through. The lights turned on and everyone gathered their things. The conductors came onto the stage and gave a bow with all the students. The performances were wonderful and the songs were beautiful. I can’t wait for more in the future and can’t wait to see how these musicians grow and give even more powerful performances.