On the 13th of June all of the kids in the Kegworth Senior Strings and Recorder ensembles performed at the Sydney Opera House in The Festival of Instrumental Music (FOIM).
FOIM is an annual festival, celebrating the love of music across Australia. There are many performances during the night, ending with the finale with the combined orchestra from multiple schools across the state. I had the privilege to perform in that last sequence, along with all the other recorder and string players from lots of different schools.
We played three pieces that all the Senior Strings kids from Kegworth have been practising with dedication for the last seven months.
Imogen, from Year 6, plays the Double Bass. “We practised a lot and we rehearsed together. We rehearsed a lot at school and once at Meadowbank Public School with the other strings players from the Metropolitan Sydney area,” she said.
“It was really fun to meet lots of people and play with other musicians,” she added.
One reason why FOIM is so incredible is that children my age, get to perform in The Sydney Opera House. Many professional musicians have not had that opportunity!
I asked some of the other Kegworth students who participated in FOIM what their favourite thing about it was.
Genevieve, a recorder player from Year 4, said that the best thing was the last song when everyone played in unison. And Mia, another Year 4 kid, who also plays recorder, thought it sounded incredible when everyone played the very last note because it made a ‘ping’ sound.
“I loved it because it sounded really nice with all of the musical instruments playing together,” said Lexie, another recorder player.
“My favourite thing about FOIM was that there were so many different musical instruments. And that you got to meet new people and then play and perform together,” added Margot, a viola player from Kegworth’s Senior Strings.
My favourite part of the night was the end, when everyone applauded, and the spotlight shone on all the kids.
