A huge congratulations to the members of Year 5 and Year 6 xylophone groups who performed in the Auckland Marimba Festival last Saturday at the Barfoot and Thompson Stadium. Both concerts were outstanding and Milford School once again showed their expertise in playing and performance behaviour. They were commented on as being “professional” by other teachers.

In preparation for this festival, the students had to learn 10 pieces from memory, which is a phenomenal achievement! I am always so impressed by these students and wish I had been given the opportunity to learn music from memory when I was young. Imagine how much they will be able to remember if they continue with music when they are an adult! Carl Orff developed the idea of teaching music through playing instruments for everyone, like the xylophone. I love this quote of his:

“Whenever I plant a trees, I never know how big it will be….some trees stay small, others grow very tall. It all depends on the quality of the earth, sunshine and other factors that have to work together.”

These students all grew into very tall trees on Saturday - well done!

Thank you also to the parents who travelled quite some distance to attend the concert and drop their children at the performance. Thank you to the Young family and Frith family who helped transport the xylophones to and from the venue!