Twinkle Theme by Mike B.

This week we experienced a new high in Mike's life. He participated in the Elementary Solo Music Festival here in Wichita, KS. It's been a long year, but Mike did great during his performance on "Twinkle Theme" on his String Bass. He really enjoys his playing, though practice can be stressful as he wants to get it perfect.

Here's a video of the performance from Thursday. This is his first time with accompaniment and a tuned instrument, so it made it that much better.

With all the ups and downs that we've experienced, we were hesitant to get Mike started on an instrument this year. After much discussion with his strings teacher, deliberation among ourselves, and agreements with Mike, we decided the Bass would be a good start. It's big enough he can't throw it across the room, durable due to size, and the strings are far enough apart for his fingers/hands that are fairly good size for a fifth grader.

It was a slow start and mid-year he wasn't going to continue on next year, but he has come around. He's practicing a minimum of weekly and has been accepted into the Arts Magnet Middle School here in Wichita. He is very excited for next year.

More to come on this school year, but wanted to share our high achievements.