Hoping for A Church Duet

Caleb loves playing in church, and he also loves playing with other people.  He has a friend who can play the flute very well.  So a little while ago, he found a church song that was written for a piano and flute to play together.  He was excited to start practicing with his friend.  He hoped that they could play it together in church sometime soon.  

We don't have video of them playing together just yet, but here is what Caleb's part sounds like:

It is so pretty when they play together.  We will have to wait and see if they can play it in church together.  I guess there has to be special approval to use certain instruments and they aren't sure if they will be allowed to have a flute during services.  We will see.  They continue to practice and have fun.  

Caleb's Fall Recital

 

Caleb had his fall piano recital last week.  He was supposed to have piano lessons at 4:30 but then the recital didn't start until 7, so there was some time to kill in between.  Caleb takes piano lessons downtown and his recital was going to be downtown at the University, so it wasn't worth the time and gas to drive back home in between.  

We went to Paradise Bakery and got some dinner before the recital.

Caleb loves their cookies!

Caleb is working on a fugue, a concerto, and a piece by Debussy right now, but he isn't quite finished learning them, so for his recital he played a song he learned back in the summertime by Schubert.  

Here he is playing March Militaire:

He made a few little mistakes, but overall a good performance.

Caleb's Special Birthday Present for His Mom

It was Caleb's mommy's birthday and besides being cute, he really wanted to give her a special birthday present.  She really liked this song by Ben Folds called "The Luckiest".  It had really pretty piano music and Caleb's daddy liked to sing it to his mom as well.  

We found the piano sheet music, and so Caleb began practicing to be ready for her birthday.  At first, just Caleb's daddy was going to sing, but in the end, Caleb really wanted to join in on the song.  

Here is Caleb's present to his mommy:

Duets with Little Sister

Here is Caleb at about age 4 and his little sister Jewelia around a year and a half. 

Caleb would begin teaching himself how to play the piano in the next months, but I bet he never thought he'd be accompanying his sister later on. 

Caleb is 8 years old now and his little sister Jewelia is 6 years old and they have become quite the team. 

Although Jewelia has only been playing violin for a short time, she has loved every time she and Caleb can play together.  Caleb enjoys it just as well.  It is good practice at becoming an accompanist and learning that sometimes you must follow another musicians' lead.

Here are a few videos of their recent works:

First, a little "Minuet Duet":

Caleb was so excited that Jewelia was going to play one of his first piano lesson songs, "The Happy Farmer".  It turned out so well:

        

 

 

We look forward to many more performances from the team of Caleb and Jewelia!

Caleb's Summer Competition

 Caleb went to the annual piano competition at the University.  He competed in some skills tests and in performance competition.  This year was a little harder because since he had won so many first place prizes last year, they required him to compete in the next age level even though he wasn't in their age group. 

Still, Caleb managed to win some prizes!  He received an Honorable Mention in performance, and a solid 2nd place in Sight Reading.

 Although he didn't receive any 1st place prizes this year, we are so proud of him.  We heard his performance pieces and they were just fantastic!  We know he worked very hard and played extremely well. Good job Caleb!

Playing at the Senior Living Center

Caleb loves to play anywhere he can find that has a piano and will let him perform.

He was recently invited to come and play at a very fancy Senior Living center. They had him scheduled as the entertainment and had all the residents lined up in rows to listen to him while they had root beer floats for a treat.

Caleb came with a whole program list of songs. He played all his best songs that he has played over the past year and 1/2 in his recitals and competitions as well as a few modern ones he has learned on his own.

He did a great job and the crowd loved him!

Getting Ready for yet Another Competition!

Caleb has been having a pretty fun summer! He's been able to go on some fun vacations and road trips and even got to play the piano in Arizona for his Grandma Mary's church. He has played the piano for 5 different churches now and will play for yet another church this Sunday. He is quite in demand! Caleb just loves to play for people! It makes him so happy.

While the summer has been fun, it is almost at an end, and that means the big University's piano competition is coming! Caleb has been getting all ready to compete. He will be competing in different skills tests like "Quick Study", "Theory", and "Sight Reading", as well as competing with two different performance pieces.

He has been refreshing an older song that he will compete with called "Anitra's Dance" by Grieg. This one uses the pedal, so it is still a little difficult for him to reach, but he makes it work.