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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2020)
4 Wednesday, February 19, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Elementary students ‘compose themselves’ onstage By T. Lee Brown Correspondent Sixteen famous composers dressed in black stood stock- still on the Sisters Elementary School stage Thursday night. It was the performance of <Compose Yourself,= a musi- cal directed by music teacher Sara Miller. In came a pack of kids in colorful clothing, bang- ing their heads and dancing to rock music, headphones on. Annabelle Molesworth, Hadley Gloeckner, and others played this group of students that had been assigned to write reports on <boring= music by <old, dead= composers. The rock music was inter- rupted by strains of sweet and stunning orchestral strains from the classical and roman- tic eras. The 16 came to life and jumped in to help the stu- dents. Their ranks included Opal Reid as George Frideric Handel, Ryah Nordell as Johannes Brahms, Reese Womack as Joseph Haydn, Sadiee Darst as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Kyanne Keeton as Johann Strauss, and Brennan Johnson as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Katharine Cogdill played the German Romantic com- poser Felix Mendelssohn, known for his wedding march. <I think it9s a cool expe- rience to have in my life, because I may not get to do this again,= she said. She learned a lot about teamwork. <It was really fun to get together with my friends and do this play 4 super fun.= Learning about music and composers was interest- ing for Katharine, too: <how they made music and how they changed lives for some people.= Katharine is more aware of classical and romantic music since starting rehearsals a few months ago. <My mom was reading this article about if you listen to a type of classi- cal,= she said. <You can get smarter from it. It was really fun to get together with my friends and do this play... — Katharine Cogdill <Now I play »Für Elise9 sometimes, on the piano,= she said, <and my dad showed me how to do this.= Here she sang the tune to Beethoven9s famous song, with lyrics about hamburgers and fries. In the show, Für Elise was played on an electric keyboard by fourth-grader Madison Durham. She told Ludwig van Beethoven (played by Gusty Berger-Brown) that he was her favorite composer. His response? <You have exqui- site taste.= Beethoven sang a solo, <Can You Hear?= based on the composer9s beloved Our agents are ready to meet your insurance needs Moonlight Sonata. Then the play9s students explained to the composers that they liked a kind of music called rap. Alex Vitelle (<Mike=) and Olivia Lajko (<Sue=) busted out with rhymes to show the form. The <old dudes= gave it a try, too. Played by Weston Bliss, Jesus <Chuy= Luna, Keagan McShane, Jack Baughn, and Josie Jaschke, composers from Franz Schubert to Giuseppe Verdi performed solo raps. Marshall Durham, playing Johann Sebastian Bach, even deliv- ered one in German. Cameron Smyth got a big laugh as the 20th century minimalist composer Philip Glass. The rap consisted of him intoning: <Glass& Glass& Glass& Glass& Philip Glass.= A full ensemble sang show tunes, waltzes, and lullabies based on themes by various composers. The show wasn9t staged, set, and costumed like a full theatrical produc- tion; it was set up as a musical performance with risers and microphones. Other players included Kate Mock, Lydia Davis, Clover Lee, Clara Bilderback, Kole Morris, and Sam Van Paepeghem. Ms. Miller stepped in to perform Gustav Mahler 9s rap, as Aiden Smetzler was ill. Ashleigh Thomas assisted the director, and Russell Moffett was the sound technician. Parent Stephony Duda chuckled, <It was funny! It PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK Students portrayed famous musical figures in “Composer Rap” during SES Third Grade Presents “Compose Yourself.” was fun.= She was amazed that the third-graders did such a good job performing the play, which was written for sixth-graders. She enjoyed rehearsing at home with her son Declan, who played one of the stu- dents. She read aloud the play9s different parts to help Declan learn his lines. In the process, her son battled fears of stage fright 4 and won. <This was a wonderful experience where he got to participate, get his lines right, build his confidence,= Duda said. Declan said, <It was kind of worrying, since I9ve never done a play before.= He feared that he9d forget his lines, or that he <might just get straight- up embarrassed.= Instead, he ended up hav- ing a great time onstage. Would he like to be in another play sometime? Declan nod- ded. <Definitely.= SISTERS 549-9388 As life changes, so should your policy Call or come in today for a free Farmers Friendly Review 541-588-6245 • 257 S. Pine St., #101 www.farmersagent.com/jrybka AUTO • HOME • LIFE • BUSINESS Andean Blue Opal, Pearl, White Topaz, 14k & 22K Presenting the NEW Yarn Department! Come see our selection of chunky yarn! A customer favorite! 541.549.6061 | 311 W. Cascade Ave. Sisters