Regionalmusikschule Amstetten: Schulkonzert

Ballet recitals are a thing of my childhood. I remember being a very poor ballet student, never being coordinated, talented or practiced enough to take much pride in my recitals. This is something I regret now, of course, seeing the amazingness of Natalie Portman in Black Swan, or even some of my students participate in their own recitals here in Amstetten.

I was invited last Friday to see the year-end recital for the Amstetten regional music school by one of my students. It was interesting on several levels:

1. The recital was just about 3 hours and took practically every lesson the school offers into account: a Kindergarten choir, a brass band concert, an abridged ballet (Le Corsaire by Adolphe Adam), and a jazz/tap/modern dance recital.

2. Being able to see other aspects of students outside of school: their talents, their personalities, what they spend a lot of time doing, what they're passionate about. Dancing, playing the saxophone or drums, etc.

3. It's refreshing to know that not all Europeans are super-classy and dignified. The image Americans have in their heads is a bunch of Austrians at the Vienna Philharmonic in tuxes and ball gowns staring through opera glasses at the performers and clapping daintily after each set. This recital, however, saw plenty of families from the Kindergarten group get up and leave as soon as their kids jumped off the stage. Americans, though we can be crass, are not the only crass human beings on the planet.

4. I found one more thing to do in Amstetten!

I was pleasantly surprised at the level of enthusiasm and hard work that went into the recital, and found it very worthwhile to attend. Bravo!