Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Cait's recital

Well, we are back and we survived recital weekend! We had such a wonderful time. I'm always proud of our darling Cait, but this really was so amazing. This is a picture of the program. A very nice, varied selection of music, in a beautiful recital hall. What impressed me the most is her poise and confidence on stage. She has grown so tremendously while attending UNT, and her father and I were just about to burst with pride Friday evening.The green script is in honor of UNT!
After the performance, we retired to the "green room" to relax, mingle and of course, EAT! Let me tell you, college kids can pack it away! One of Cait's friends complimented me on one of the cookie recipes. When I asked if he enjoyed them, he replied "I guess so, I ate 10"lol. Needless to say, we sent the rest of those cookies home with him!
People mingling and relaxing after the recital. I didn't realize how many people were in black until I saw this picture! Guess it's that whole artsy college thing?
One of the great things about UNT is the abundance of talent, and the wonderful facilities to express it. This is Cait's friend Lillian, an accomplished pianist (and she plays the sax too!) She is probably Ben Folds #1 fan. Cait had told her that we are huge fans of his music, and she surprised us by playing some of his selections. This is a picture of Cait and DH singing along.
DWR Quartet with Dr. Nestler, head of the saxophone department at UNT. Quartet members are from left: Kyle, tenor saxophone; Justin, baritone saxophone; Brett, alto saxophone and Cait, soprano saxophone.
This is a picture of Cait with one of her oldest friends, Billy. They have been friends since Cait started band in the 6th grade and remain best buddies to this day. They both attend UNT as music education majors. Billy is an extremely talented percussionist, and played the vibes with Cait for the 2nd piece of the recital. We are very fortunate to live in a community that places a high value on the arts, and our school district's music department is one of the best! Georgetown has been named "One of the 100 Best Communities for Music Education" 2 years in a row.
Proud mamma with exhausted, relieved daughter! I have included a very short snippet of Cait's first piece, Light of Sothis. This is a portion of the first movement "Grace". Excuse the less than perfect editing, but blogger will only allow 100mb of video! If you would like to see the entire performance of this piece, you can see it on you tube - the url for this video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkmnvEOv3AU. Once I get more comfortable with my video editing software, I will post the other 3 pieces. Hope you enjoy! And again, if your child comes home from school and says they want to join band, run, don't walk, to the music store and get them started. Even if they do not choose to pursue music as a career, the joy that it brings will last them the rest of their lives.


24 comments:

Deb said...

Music makes the world go round, welcome home

Melissa Miller said...

How wonderul Kathy!

I'm so glad you all had a great time.
Everyone looks beautiful!

Have a blessed day.
~Melissa :)

Anonymous said...

Oh,I know how very proud you must be.Congrats Mom .You did good.Yes,I agee.Kids need to be busy and "INTO"something to stay out of trouble.Apparently you have done everything right Kathy...Ann

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

BRAVO! That video clip was beautiful. How proud you must be. I was able to see and hear the love for music that you have instilled in your daughter! Such talent! I enjoyed the video very much. laurie

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Hi Kat! This is so wonderful! I know how proud you must be of her! And I am so impressed that you have embedded the video in your post!! Now you must teach the teacher!! lol...Debbie

DesignTies said...

Kathy - thanks so much for dropping by! Thanks for your great comment about my Stone post. You know... quartz is a pretty great solid surface choice. I've seen pics of your kitchen and it looks great!

I enjoyed reading this post - your daughter is very talented! And tall ;-)

Victoria @ DesignTies

LuLo Designs/Blue Eyed Tango said...

Tell Cait, Bravo! Thank you for sharing that piece! I don't know what it is about a saxophone, it just is soothing to my soul! I miss playing....so glad it went well for her! Congratulations!Lu

Helen said...

Can't tell you how much I enjoyed this post and the photos that came with it! What fun and how proud everyone must be. I attended an orchestra concert Thursday evening. My 12-year old grandson plays bass ... instilling the love of music and culture in our young ones is one of the greatest gifts we can give. AND, thanks for the video! Good job.

DesignTies said...

Cogratulations to Cait on her first college recital :-) I'm sure a great weekend was had by all :-)

It's wonderful that you encouraged Cait to follow her love for music. It's important for parents to let their kids follow their dreams :-)

Kelly @ DesignTies

xinex said...

How wonderful, Kathy! I can feel your pride of Cait radiating through my laptop. You have a very good reason to be proud and you should also believe that a lot of that poise, talent and confidence came from your upbringing...Christine

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

Oh girl how proud you must be of your daughter..Love to see the pic of you and her together..May you have a wonderful Sunday...hugs and smiles Gl♥ria

Linda (Nina's Nest) said...

Music speaks to the soul! That is so beautiful - so peaceful. What a wonderful talent! I know you are proud. Linda

Susan (Between Naps On The Porch.net) said...

Hi Kathy...I know you must have had a wonderful time! Congrats on a great performance by your daughter, Cait! My son was in the band for three years during middle school years...and what instrument did he pick...the tuba! We eventually bought one because it was so heavy to carry back and forth to school for practice. LOL
Great pic of you and Cait! :-) Susan

Anonymous said...

Oh, you must be so proud of your daughter! How wonderful!
You must watch the Bill O'Reily show - maybe he'll mention me as a patriot and not a pinhead! :)
Be a sweetie,
shelia ;)

Lori said...

Very nice! She played so well! I know you are a very proud mom!

I am a fan of your blog! Come over to my site and get a fan award:)

Hope you had a great weekend!

Debra Howard said...

What an awesome blog. I so enjoyed visiting you and getting to know you a bit. I look forward to being one of your biggest fans and I so appreciate your amazing support and encouragement on my texastumbleweed blog. Thank you, Thank you.
Debbie

Dawn Marie said...

Glad it went well. Beautiful Mom and daughter. I would have to say my favorite instrument may be Sax--I just love it. Piano is awesome to. My twins took piano lessons for several years but so far have done nothing with it.

Silvia said...

ohhhhhhhh how beautiful!,she did great!!!.you both are very beautiful ladies,i'm sure you are soooo proud of her...way to go Cait...
silvia

Unknown said...

Kathy, So much to say, first of all your daughter is a very talented young lady. Although I have not an ounce of musical talent, Ilove listening to the sax, I have several Kenny G cd's. I just watched the youtube video, very impressive, what a set of lungs she has, that was a long piece! Also, thank you for awarding me your award, it is my first, now if I can just figure out how to get it on my blog, lol. Again, Congrats mom on raising a great daughter! Sue

Blondie's Journal said...

Kathy,

Your pride in Cait was just oozing... and I can't blame you one bit. The video was wonderful and how nice to see pics of your whole family!

How you must have nurtured and supported Cait's desire! Kudo's to you and your husband. And thank you so much for your sweet comments today. I feel you, of all people understands.

xoxo
Blondie

Nancy said...

Well, I just watched her whole performance and it was amazing. I'm in awe of anyone who has musical talent like she does. What a wonderful evening it must have been for you all. Thanks for the link, Kathy. xoxo Nancy

Belle (from Life of a...) said...

I know you'll agree with me...nothing I'VE ever done makes me as proud as when one of my children accomplish something wonderful. You all must be JUMPING with joy....and I know that Cait is relieved that it is over and that all of her hard hard work paid off. Congratulations!

nikkicrumpet said...

Even on the video the sound quality is lovely...I can only imagine how stunning it must have sounded live! Congrats to her for her amazing talent...and the courage to share it with the world!

The Muse said...

GOSH...!!!!!
SUPER WOWWEEE !
I just bet you are bursting at the seams with MEGA PRIDE!

She is so blessed and gifted...HURRAH!