April is for the Arts

April has been a busy arts month so far, with no signs of slowing down.

Last week, I attended the Evening of the Arts at Elias’ elementary school.  He sang a song with the fifth grade choir in the Bistro Cafe (also known as the media center), and then we wandered around and found his pieces of art on display.

Here is one:

The title of Elias’ painting is Bluebane.

And here is Elias with Tim the Evil Dictator.  Elias made the snowman and wrote an entertaining story told from Tim’s point of view.

I especially like Tim’s evil eyebrows.

 Click here to see more photos of the event on Northfield Patch.

Louisa also has art on display this month; hers is at the 2012 Northfield All-School Art Show at the Northfield Arts Guild Gallery.  She and I stopped in Monday after her voice lesson to see her self-portrait and her letter “L” painting.  The inspiring show is filled with artwork by kids as young as kindergarten up through high school.  It runs through April 28.  You can find more information about it and the NAG’s Imagination Celebration here.

Tuesday night, Sebastian performed a solo on his viola for the 25th Annual Northfield Middle School Solo and Ensemble Festival.  All eighth grade orchestra students were required to perform; it was optional for the sixth and seventh graders.  Seb said he received positive and helpful comments from the judge, including the suggestion that he try playing with a metronome.

He told me this in the car, as I drove him home.

“Well, I suppose we could buy one,” I said.

“Mom, you don’t need to buy one,” Seb said. “You can just use the computer.”

Shows how old-fashioned I am.  It never occurred to me that you could use an online metronome. There’s even an app for it!  I tried one version and found it annoying.  But, like I said, I’m old-fashioned.

Louisa participates Friday in the 26th Annual Missota Arts Festival, which is hosted this year by Northfield High School.  The all-day event involves bands and choirs from eight schools and concludes with a 7 p.m. grand finale concert in the high school gymnasium.  The concert is open to the public; tickets cost $6 for adults and $4 for students.  As a member of the Northfield Fine Arts Boosters, I plan to help out for a few hours in the hospitality room, where directors and clinicians can get lunch and coffee.

No one in the family is in a play or musical this month, but Louisa and Seb are helping backstage at Paper Daddy, which opens this weekend at the Northfield Arts Guild theater.  We plan to see it next weekend; this weekend we’re going to The Last Five Years, a Merlin Players production at the Paradise Theater in Faribault.  The show was written and composed by Jason Robert Brown (the same guy who wrote 13, which Seb performed in last summer at the NAG).  The Last Five Years is directed by Juliana Skluzacek, who will soon direct Steve in the Merlin Players’ next production, A Year with Frog and Toad.  That show runs in June; rehearsals start next week.

The month will conclude with three music events featuring three different family members: the Northfield High School/Northfield Middle School jazz band concert on April 26 (Seb), the I Cantanti concert on April 29 (Steve), and the Northfield High School band concert on April 30 (Louisa).

It’s a good thing April only has 30 days, or we’d surely cram in another arts event or two before May begins.