Monday, April 30, 2007

The Dance Weaver

Friday was Junior Day at Bishop Dwenger. Basically the Junior Class was honored at Mass and accepted responsibility to lead the school the next year. After Mass the Juniors went out to lunch and then were given the afternoon off. We took Jenny to Ball State so she could see some of the student art. There was a senior art display and a juried student art exhibit also. Then after fighting traffic around Indy we met up with John and headed out to see the Hammer & Nail Project 2007. Students from the IU Composition Department were able to write music and the dance school students choreographic a dance for the music. The composers and the choreographers communicated ideas to each other and the composers recruited the musicians and the choreographer the dancers. John's piece is entitled The Dance Weaver and is performed by a piano and clarinet. Out of the 12 pieces performed that night I'd have to say John's song was in my opinion the best - of course I'm the mom!

Here is a note from the composers from the program:
In the first bar of The Dance Weaver, the clarinet presents material which in six minutes will be cut, transformed, and interwoven to creat a tapestry of rhythmic and melodic vitality from the first twill to the last stitch. John Leszczynski


Monday, April 23, 2007

Weekend of Fine Arts

On Saturday, Bishop Dwenger music students participated in the ISSMA events for orchestra, band and choir. Jenny played her horn on one piece with the choir and she played her horn with the concert band. Sunday was the Fine Art Fair at Bishop Dwenger and the music groups performed for parents and friends and the art department set up a gallery of student work.





Grandma Pauline, Becky & her mom enjoyed the concert.


Jenny had four drawings in the art gallery. The drawing of the little girl that I posted on March 29, and the drawing of Jenny's reflection in a wine glass. Also the hand & egg, and the shoes.

Commando March

The Bishop Dwenger High School Band performing "Commando March" by Barber on 4-22-07.

Set Me As A Seal Upon Your Heart

This weekend Jenny accompanied the Bishop Dwenger Choir with her french horn.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Trip to IU to see the Concert Band

On Thursday, Becky and I drove down to see John play in the IU Concert Band's final performance for the season. We were able to see John for about an hour before he needed to head off for a practice of his upcoming piano/clarinet dance piece.

This is a squirrel outside of John's dorm. (He reminded me of the Caddy Shack Goofer).


We went to the Union and had some yogurt and fruit while we visited with John.





The Union has a nice courtyard by the main entrance and I couldn't help myself from taking a picture of the flowers.








When John went off to his practice, Becky and I walked the campus for a while, then we went to an Indian restaurant near John's dorm for dinner.

The mighty Jordan River flowing through campus.




It still amazes me how things are blooming in Bloomington.











I like this picture of the tulips and Becky, because it looks like either Becky is very small or the tulips are really big. It reminds me of Dorothy in the poppy field in the Wizard of Oz.



After dinner it was "show time" in the MAC, (Musical Arts Center).











After the concert we walked with John to put his saxes away. Then as we drove home, John was off to yet another class - his composition master class. There was a cool Moon and Jupiter in the night sky.




Two Folk Songs

Two Folk Songs performed by IU's Concert Band - April 19, 2007. John is playing soprano saxophone.

Monday, April 16, 2007

The Sun Also Rises

This is John's piano composition that was performed by Colin on April 12, 2007 at IU's Ford-Crawford Hall.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

A Clean Desk & Joey received his Therapy Dog Tag

This is a rare picture of my desk - it's clean!

Joey received his therapy dog tag.


Monday, April 09, 2007

Easter Sunday

The lamb gathered some admirers overnight.

The Easter Lilly was very fragrant.



I tossed a leg of lamb in the oven and then we left for 11:30 a.m. Mass. Jenny sang in the choir and John played his sax. When we came home, I took the lamb's temperature and it was done and dinner was just a few minutes away.



Bob went downstairs to get a special wine for dinner and Jenny was having a hard time waiting. She had given up eating meat for Lent and she was ready to break her fast. John mean time was waiting patiently while Joey could sense the anticipation at the table.



Dinner was good. At 3:00, we took John back to school.
Happy Easter Everyone!

Easter Saturday

Easter Saturday is always a baking day for me. I made a braided bread, a lamb cake, hot cross buns,(every parent of a music student knows the tune, but just in case you need a refresher http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itix0Hf_G8I) and cinnamon rolls.







While I was baking, Jenny was in her room drawing, "Woody"

Boomer likes hanging out by the piano when someone is playing.


Jenny also colored Easter Eggs.


The Start of Easter Weekend

On Good Friday, Bob and I drove down to Bloomington to bring John home for Easter. Our original plan called for some hiking before picking him up, but the weather was kind of "unseasonable" so we opted instead to stop at the Brown County Winery. The reds were not up to our tastes but we opted to buy a Cranberry-Apple and a Blackberry wine that we will use for dessert wines. We then acted like tourist and drove through Brown County State Park and took pictures from the lookouts and vista stops instead of hiking out.
Here are a few pictures.













As I was driving along in the park, Bob spotted some turkeys and got really excited, so I pulled the van over and he jumped out and ran down a steep ravine chasing after them to get some pictures. The weather did feel like a November day, could Bob have gotten Easter confused with Thanksgiving?





After Bob's turkey trot we drove on to Bloomington and picked up John and drove home to Fort Wayne.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Locks of Love

On Wednesday, Jenny made a donation to the Locks of Love organization. http://www.locksoflove.org/ . They provide hair prosthetics for disadvantaged children with permanent hair loss from alopecia areata, radiation treatments, or burns.

Jenny was very brave.