Thursday, December 11, 2008

Christmas concert at my school

Sometimes, being in New York is like being in a film.
Today it was the Christmas concert at my school, and I offered to help the band.
Clarinets, trumpets, trombons, lots of percussion, elelctric guitars, a choir a four teacher, two of them music ones, dedicated to make that sound good.
About thirty kids playing instruments, different TV and film songs and a couple of Christmas carols.

Like in a Disney film or in a teenage series, or in Hannah Montana. But at my school, kids do not usually have any previous knowledge of music, and it might be the first time they actually have acces to the instruments. The instruments of course, belong to the school. They take music classes everyday, and that is why they are being able to play what they are playing, which is a lot for the background they have.
A clarinet comes to watch the concet and try to avoid playing. The teacher has to get off the stage and tell him off to bring him out of the audience in the morning, so that he plays with the band.
In the morning there is a bigger audience, because the other teachers bring the kids down so they can listen to the concert. In the evening, the auditorium is almost empty, just filled to a quarter of its capacity, being optimistic. Most of them being friends of the players... and some parents.
Putting together musicians and singers, there will be like thirty kids playing, trying their best. There is hardly a dozen parents in the audience.
A concert prepaired with such an effort, such an illusion...Nervousness, scripts...And the parents... where are they? Some can't come because of work, some will be in a different country, some will not be, some aight not even know that their offspring is playing, or might not even be able to notice their absence from home in a rainy winter night. But they are there, playing, like if the auditorium was full,like if they were playing the best of the music. Although some, like the clarinet, does not even come in the night to school.
Like in a movie, but not a Disney one or a teenage series....more like in other movies without happy endings or warm christmas' with presents or love.

And this way, teachers look at the last week and a half before the holidays, knowing that it is going to be down hill,being aware, as they unconsciousoy are, of the big amount of unfulfilled expectations and disapointments they are going to have to face. The way to a christmas time like the one in a amovie...but in an alternative one


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