Ledyard High School Winter Concert

I was dragged to a high school instrumental concert on Friday night.

Actually, I wasn't totally dragged because we were going out to dinner first at Valentino's in Ledyard. All it takes is the promise of good food and I'll pretty much follow anyone anywhere.

Really, though, classical music isn't my thing. I grew up with two younger brothers that played piano, sax, trombone, recorder, anything they could get their hands on. And my dad was a classical music nut, who would stop at Cutler's Record Shop in New Haven at least once a week to pick up the newest releases from composers who had been dead for hundreds of years. Years ago, long before I-Pods and even shelf-top stereos, when he listened to a classical music record, the whole family listened to a classical music record.

Anyway, enough about me and my tough, classical-music-filled childhood.

A bunch of us from the library went to see Ledyard High School Music's Winter Concert. A Library Aide named Josh is an expert with percussion instruments, and Friday night was his debut directing the band for two pieces.

Even though we barely made it to the school in time (sorry, Jayne, I had to say it!), we got decent seats and settled in. Let me tell you, from the first piece, I was totally impressed by Josh and the whole band. They played all different types of music, from classical to jazz to Christmas music and everything sounded great.

As impressive as the band was, Josh stood out above everyone else. I've always heard from his family how talented he is but now I've seen it first hand. He had many solos during the show, but the highlight was when he conducted the whole band. He stood up in front of everyone and, with a confidence that belied his years, led his classmates in two pieces. He really seemed like he belonged there.

I really enjoyed the night and, with a few more years of therapy, I may actually start to appreciate some classical music.

I forgot my Nikon at home but did take some videos with my pocket camera. Some of the highlights are below, and I did post all of them on YouTube. If you want to see more, double click on any of the videos and, when the new page opens, click on "More from this user:"

Everyone enjoyed the night. Well, almost everyone: