Sonatina Festival 2016-An Opportunity for Challenge and Growth

This is the tenth year for the Katy MTA Sonatina Festival! To Celebrate, we have commissioned a composer, Wendy Stevens, to write a piano sonatina for our group. Wendy researched Katy and discovered that Buffalo Bayou (called the "Mother Bayou" in Houston) actually begins west of Katy. She wrote a three-movement piece that captures a child's imagination when it comes to life around the bayou. Check out the video below:

I have two students currently studying this sonatina.  Isabella is playing the first movement, "Springs and Sprinkles", and Gracie is going to perform the third movement, "Snakin' Through the Bayou", on Nov. 5 at the festival.

I am so proud of all the hard work that fifteen of my students have put into preparing for this festival.  Sonatinas are tricky; they require loads of work to master just the playing, and then more work to memorize them.  Each entrant will perform in a mini-recital in front of two judges.  After the festival closes, the students will receive a critique and a ribbon to commemorate the day.  

All performances are at Kingsland Baptist Church, 20555 Kingsland Blvd., Katy, 77450.  Here are the performance times:  

8:00-8:25 - Carys - group 1
8:10-8:35 - Noah and Emma - group 2
8:25-8:50 - Isaac, Hadley - group 3
8:35-9:05- Gracie - group 4
10:15-10:45- Katelyn - group 10
10:35-11:05- Danielle - group 11
11:05-11:35-  Larissa, Madison- group 13
12:50-13:20- Grace, Meredith - group 17
13:00-13:30- Julia, Micah - group 18
13:30-14:00 - Katie - group 20 

Good luck to all the participants!  (and keep practicing!)