Strike Up the Band

With the coming of spring and the winding down of the school year, it's time for some of the end-of-the-school-year activities. A couple of days ago the winners of the "Inspirations" art contest were announced (see earlier post); last night Alex participated in a concert by the 5th grade orchestra. Well, it wasn't just his class: three other orchestras from the school performed as well. Alex's group performed four pieces, culminating in "Ode to Joy," which has been the tune of preference for all three kids these days (Alex figured out how to play it on the piano and showed Simon and Eva, so they end up banging it out with some regularity). Alex is playing the cello and really enjoying it. Of course in addition to learning such chestnuts as "Ode to Joy," he's also figuring out how to play "Smoke on the Water" and other such classics. If you think those four chords rock on the electric guitar, wait 'til you hear them on the cello!