Piano Extravaganza

Abigail, Hillary, and Suzanna with their piano teacher, Mrs. Vold

This afternoon our daughters performed in the Badlands Piano Extravaganza, held at the university and presented by the Badlands Music Teachers Association. For each song in the program, six or eight students performed simultaneously! Yep, they played piano duets, so two students would sit together at a keyboard (four keyboards total), and all three or four pairs would play the same duet together as one of the music teachers in attendance conducted.

For several weeks all the students had rehearsed their duets as part of their regular piano lessons with their own piano teachers, and then this morning they gathered to rehearse for the first and only time with the other students in their groups. Suzanna and Abigail sat together at the same keyboard for their group's song: "Let's Go West." Hillary's group played "Happiness Runs." The performances went very well, and it was fun to hear the full sound of so many hands playing at once and to see so many unfamilar faces: other piano teachers besides Mrs. Vold and all their own students, whom we don't see at Mrs. Vold's recitals, of course.

At the end of the concert, there was a drawing to win a free electronic piano keyboard donated by Jacobsen Music. All the performing students' names were put into a basket, and we figured that, with three kids amongst the piano players today, the odds of winning were in our favor! Alas, no Moberg won. Nevertheless, the extravaganza was a fun break in the middle of our day and another opportunity for my buttons to burst with pride.