Julianna performs in Utah Youth Symphony Concert

They performed Mahler's First Symphony (all 4 movements) in Abravanel Hall on May 14, 2011. It was a wonderful concert.

James in Music Man at Rodgers Memorial Theater

James is in Music Man at Rodgers Memorial Theater. The show runs from July to Aug 28 but was extended because of sell out audiences to Aug 31st.

James was rehearsing almost every night through June and July and loving every minute of it.

James' character's name is Marcus and he is in the Monday, Wednesday, Friday cast.

One of the fun things about the show is the costuming. At the beginning of the show, all the costumes are black and white. As Harold Hill casts his spell on the "Stubborn Iowans" in River City, the costumes become more and more colorful. In the finale, the band costumes and all the colorful costumes prove that Harold Hill really did change the "River City-iziens' " lives.

When we watched the show, Rick said that the band uniforms that the boys' band wears are the same uniforms that he wore when he marched with the University of Utah Band back in his college days.

On the first day of the show, James did the suggested hairstyle (slicked back tight on top and curled up on the sides). We did the hairstyle, but were unsure if we had the right look. When the director saw his hair on the first night, she (as well as other cast members) said that they loved it and he would have to wear it that way every night! His head is getting tougher as I style it with gel and other products and blowdry it with a round brush every other day.

The Davis County Clipper published an article about the show and talked about James' cast.

Marie's fun concert

Marie will be playing a fun concert this weekend. It's movie music! Highly energetic recognizable, and some that's just absolutely gorgeous. For more info including a list of pieces, prices and event time and location go to the Salt Lake Symphony website. I would love to see all of you there. It's going to be a fun time, and it's also my last concert of the season. So let's have a party!

Julianna's Jr. High Band Concert

Julianna will play in the Junior High's final Band concert of the year this Tuesday Night, May 13th at 7:00 at Woods Cross High. It should be a very enjoyable concert because they will play songs from Movies and very recognizable stuff. Julianna will play in both the 8th and 9th grade bands. We hope you can come.

Angie's spring concert

Angela will be singing with the Salt Lake Children's Choir in their spring concert on May 9th and 10th at 7:30 pm. The concert will be held at the First Presbyterian Church on South Temple and C Street. Tickets are $8 or $5 for students, and can be purchased from Angela. If Angela sells 20 tickets then each ticket will only be $5 each. They will be recording this concert, so children under 6 years will not be admitted. We hope you will be able to enjoy their beautiful angelic voices at the concert.

The Wiz

Julianna has been taking a theater class at Rodgers Memorial Theater this past school year. They will soon be ready to perform "The Wiz" for audiences at the theater. "The Wiz" is a 1960s play on "The Wizard of OZ" complete with lots of "hippy" expressions. It should be a lot of fun.
Opening night is Friday April 18th. There is a show each night of the week except Sunday, and there are 3 shows on Saturdays (1:00, 4:00 and 7:00). The show closes after Saturday April 26th. Julianna will be in each of the plays but will have a more major roll on Friday the 18th, Wed the 23rd, and the 4:00 show on Saturday the 26th. Tickets are $6. I hope you will get a chance to go.

Marie's Viola Recital

Saturday night, right after the Priesthood session of General Conference, Marie played a viola recital. She played beautifully.
The Alan Edwards family, in her ward, invited her to play a recital in their home for some of their friends and Marie's family. We are so grateful for their hospitality.
Marie asked Diane Bastian, the best accompanist in all of Bountiful, to accompany her. She also did a wonderful job. It is true what Alan said at the end of the recital, "The best recitals are ones where the soloist and accompanist play duets." We have appreciated Diane's skill and willingness to accompany our daughters for many years. She is such a blessing to us.
Marie played Bach's Concerto No. 1 in a minor on violin so she could use it for an application for Suzuki violin teacher training. She also played 2 movements of a Brahms Sonata (No. 1), 2 movements from Bach's unaccompanied cello suites (on viola), and a movement of Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata. And she added for some "easy listening" Schubert's Ave Maria, and an unaccompanied arrangement of the hymn, "Where Can I Turn For Peace" which she arranged when she was in high school for a Seminary assembly.
A lot of our family came to the recital. We were very pleased that they came. After all of her preparation, if there had been little to no audience, it would have been disappointing. As it was, we felt like the recital was a big success.
Thanks Marie, for sharing your talent with us.

Angela's concert in the Tabernacle

Angela sang with the Salt Lake Children's Choir in a concert in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. The concert was given by the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable, which was created during the 2002 Winter Olympics to address the spiritual needs of Olympic athletes of many religions. Rick and I attended the Interfaith Concert on Sunday night. It was very inspirational and enjoyable. I read a description in the Deseret News of last year's concert which was held in the Assembly Hall. They were very similar concerts. As we enjoyed the concert, we wished that we had brought our children with us and invited some friends.
In the last couple of weeks I read a talk on that topic given in the 2001 BYU Women's Conference by James A Toronto. You can listen to the talk from this link. In the talk, Brother Toronto quotes Joseph Smith's teachings about our feelings toward other faiths and their beliefs. I found the quotes from Joseph Smith and other prophets that he quoted in the talk to support my good feelings at the concert. The talk also talked about the tensions in the Middle east and thus seemed particularly timely to me with Emily living in Jerusalem right now.
I want to teach my children as Sister Toronto's talk states, to "dismantle the "walls of Partition" -- intolerance, pride, suspicion and rivalry-- by teaching our children to love and learn from our brothers and sisters of different backgrounds, viewing them no more as "strangers and foreigners."
Angela liked singing in the concert. The Japanese drums was the part she liked best of the concert. They were exciting.

Angela in Salt Lake Children's Choir Interfaith Concert

On Sunday February 10th at 5:00 I will be singing in the Tabernacle on Temple Square with the Salt Lake Children's Choir in a Free concert that is open to all ages.