Piccolo, Saxo and Company

We always enjoy playing music in a group, either with flutes, guitars, with pianos, drums, or the body itself. We have sung in groups on many occasions, on Christmas, autumn day, Father's Day, for parents, for kids exchange, for the guys that come next year, by the end of course, etc. Also we constantly dance choreographies in groups or with the whole school, sevillanas, salsa, merengue, zumba, bachata, with glasses, and so on.

But the stage performance is a huge step. We join in a performance of music, theatre, song, dance, i.e. a complete interpretation. So it is the most important thing for students of music at the IESO Sierra Almenara, who devote much effort and sacrifice to this project. It's like a long-term, lasting nine months as a marathon. Reaches the end of the year and comes the day of the performance. We all give the best of each of us. It is a team effort so that the whole class struggles in the same direction. The nerves and tension appear, but we are ready to overcome all the setbacks and ups and downs.

The play called "Piccolo, Saxo and Company" is the most ambitious program we've done so far in the Course of Music. The stage performance is complicated. First we have become accustomed to this work with the Puppet Theater. We conducted six performances of Puppet Theater since 2012[1]. So this school year, we interpreted the play "Piccolo, Saxo and Company" on Guignol version for children on CEIP Alfonso Garcia Lopez of Purias.

Although we started doing theater last year with the play "The Nutcracker", as we make this musical story with real actors, the students of 4th year of the IESO Sierra Almenara, for children of the CEIP San Cristobal de Lorca.

This year we have gone back (last February) the CEIP San Cristobal with "Piccolo, Saxo and Company". The children prepared with his music teacher work a little cartel drawing that hung like a breastplate and reproducing the instruments of the orchestra. It was an enriching experience for all.

Now, the project culminates with the performance of the play in Aguilas, in the House of Culture Francisco Rabal, on 8th June. We will do two sessions, one for children of CEIP Ciudad del Mar, and one for children of CEIP Virgen de los Dolores. After many trials we hope that the work is a success and children enjoy themselves as much or more than we have enjoyed ourselves preparing for them.

With fantasy wardrobe, an adventure story, with magic decorated, with adorable musical instruments, and bad characters, and very bad, and good, real good. It's a beautiful and endearing performance.

Once upon a time ... ¡Píccolo and Saxo!

Francisco Amós Tomás Pastor, teacher of music of IESO Sierra Almenara of Purias, Lorca.

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[1] The 4 Seasons of Vivaldi, Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev, The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker and Piccolo, Saxo and Company by André Popp and Jean Broussolle.