Talent Uncovered at Inaugural All-School Instrumental Recital

In Mount Vernon’s inaugural instrumental recital, 18 students in Kindergarten through grade 11 filled Mount Vernon’s sanctuary with the sounds of J.S. Bach and One Republic.
Music Instructor John Grove cast a School-wide invitation to any student studying an instrument, privately. The musicians selected their own pieces and played to their individual degree of difficulty and comfort.
Musicians
Piper Neumann, Cello “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” (Folk Song)
Amelia Katz, Piano “All the Stars Are Shining” (Nancy Faber)
Christina Dahabreh, Piano “Forest Drums” (Nancy and Randall Faber)
Jake Pierce, Piano “Demons” (Imagine Dragons)
Dennis Norman, Piano “It’s a Mystery” (Melody Bober)
Kennedy Mosley, Violin “Perpetual Motion” (Suzuki)
Matthew Pierce, Piano “Demons” (Imagine Dragons)
Thomas Rizk, Piano “Paper Airplane” (Nancy and Randall Faber)
Thea Speight, Violin “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Variation A” (Suzuki)
Emily Bloodworth, Piano “Fur Elise ” (Ludwig van Beethoven)
Sean Pierce, Piano “Carol of the Bells” (Mykola Leontovych)
James Shanks, Piano “Arabesque” (Johann Burgmuller)
Ryan Rapaport, Piano “All the Right Moves” (One Republic)
Catherine Shanks, Piano “Imperial March” (John Williams)
Mark Grove, Piano English Suite (J.S. Bach)
Robin Li, Piano Sonata in G Major (Ludwig van Beethoven)
Townsend Lambert, Piano Prelude (George Gershwin)
Jackson Dalton, Piano “And now a little something….” (Billy Joel, James Taylor, and many more)
Novice players were inspired by students with years of experience and parents and music teachers alike, were so enthusiastic about the performances and impressed by the talent, that Mr. Grove plans to continue showcasing musical talent in this format for years to come.
Sixth grader Ryan Rappaport, who previously wowed audiences at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, said of his experience, “I like to play for people whenever I can. I’ve been playing for four years and I find it easy to memorize pages and pages of sheet music – especially pop music.”
Veteran pianist Jackson Dalton commented, “It was nice to see little kids playing music and be so interested in the arts.”