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Instruments strike right notes with Poway students

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Nearly 800 fourth-grade students from Chaparral, Garden Road, Midland, Painted Rock, Pomerado, Tierra Bonita and Valley Elementary schools experienced musical instruments up close and personal at the annual Introduction to Instruments assembly at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts on May 14.

The assemblies are designed to get students familiar with instruments, and give them some idea of what instrument they might be interested in pursuing in fifth grade band. The program is part of the PCPA’s Art in Education program and is funded by the Poway Center for the Performing Arts Foundation.

The kids first got to enjoy some hands-on time with demonstration instruments provided by Bertrand’s Music, before going inside and enjoying an assembly and musical demonstration by members of the Poway High School band.

Each instrument was introduced by PHS Band Director Mike Cook and a student, who then played a short section of music that the elementary students had to identify.

The students got to see not only more common instruments like the flute, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone and violin, but also more advanced instruments like the bassoon, oboe, French horn and many others.

Music selections included songs from a variety of Disney movies, including “Frozen,” “Tangled,” “Aladdin,” “The Lion King” and “Toy Story”; several pieces from the “Star Wars” movies; theme songs from “Spongebob Squarepants” and “Family Guy”; music from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and more.

The assembly concluded with the PHS band members joining together to perform a special version of “Everything is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie” that has the lyrics changed to reflect on the awesomeness of musical instruments.

One lucky student, Ellie O’Connell from Painted Rock Elementary School, was selected to come up on stage and conduct the band.

There are several other upcoming Introduction to Instruments assemblies coming up that will be held at Westview and Del Norte High Schools, and will feature those schools’s bands performing.

On Friday, May 22, Westview High School will perform two assemblies for fourth-grade students of Adobe Bluffs, Canyon View, Sundance, Deer Canyon and Park Village Elementary schools.

On Friday, May 29, Del Norte High School will perform two assemblies for fourth-grade students of Stone Ranch, Willow Grove, Del Sur and Monterey Ridge Elementary schools.

The final Introduction to Instruments assembly will be at Mt. Carmel High School, for fourth-grade students of Creekside, Los Penasquitos, Morning Creek, Rolling Hill and Sunset Hills Elementary schools.

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