
VHEE Third Graders in Ms. Cathy Wall’s class meet Maestro Confessore following a concert performed by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.
In September, third graders at Vestavia Hills Elementary East (VHEE) attended an Explorer concert at Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church, hosted by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra (ASO).
Members of the ASO, led by resident conductor and principal POPS! conductor Christopher Confessore, introduced students to the various instruments that make up the orchestra and performed 10 pieces to show them off. Students met a bumblebee in flight (“Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov), a slow-moving elephant (“The Elephant” by Saint-Saens/Confessore), a storm eventually resolving into a bird’s calming song (“William Tell Overture” by Rossini), and they were mesmerized by the strings’ performance of the “Playful Pizzicato” by Benjamin Britten and more.
“We are so grateful to the ASO for presenting these educational concerts across our community,” said Dr. Mark Richardson, principal of VHEE. “The program was so thoughtfully presented; our third graders truly appreciated the experience and learned so much from this local and world-class team of musicians.”
“Each of our students is encouraged to explore musical concepts and various instruments in the music classroom,” said Deanna Bell, music teacher at VHEE. “We were so thrilled to have the opportunity for our classroom learning to come to life for our third grade students as they were introduced to the ASO and the full range of instruments that make up an orchestra.”
“As Alabama’s orchestra, we are passionate about music education in our community,” said Deanna Sirkot, Direction of Education for the ASO. “We developed the Explorer concerts to help introduce young students to instruments and their sounds, as well as how and why composers created the music they heard performed. We hope to inspire students to learn more about music — that many of them would develop a life-long passion for music and creativity.”
Submitted by Vestavia Hills City Schools