Celebrate 350 took place on Saturday, October 18 at Christ Church in La, Plata, Maryland.  Judy Dalton, the Chairperson for this event, did a wonderful job pulling everything together.  With her creative flair for fun, the participation of several local teachers and some help from local businesses and organizations, the event was memorable from start to finish.



The "Celebration" began at 1:00 with the Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard presenting the flags, preceded by fife and drum.  Following the color guard was a wonderful processional by the bell ringers as they walked down the church aisle and took their places at the front of the church, directed by Judy Dalton.

The young ringers performed songs such as "Minuet in F" by Leopold Mozart, "Yankee Doodle" and "Amazing Grace," with nine pieces being performed in all.  Before each song was played, Judy told the story of its relevance in the history of our county.  We all learned some interesting facts from her stories in addition to enjoying the beautiful music.

At the end of the performance, the Color Guard retired the flags and stayed outside the church playing fife and drum music for the audience as they left the grounds.




At 2:15 and 3:15 respectively, the "Celebration" continued with student/teacher recitals.  The first recital was kicked off with a duet by Michael and Michele Avrick playing "Celebration Overture."    The student  performances were a variety of Baroque, patriotic and birthday/celebration songs performed on the organ, harpsichord and grand piano.  There were also performances by the Fabulous Flutes of Waldorf, led by Lucy Snell, flute pieces accompanied by Lori Dean and a vocal solo accompanied by Lynne Bouchard.  Angela Garvey performed several pieces on the pipe organ.  There were approximately 25 performances at each recital.


While Christ Church provided the grand piano and the pipe organ, MTACC was happy to provide the harpsichord, which was rented from Mark Adler of Cembaloworks of Washington.



For more information, go to www.cembaloworks.com.

Finally, the 4:30 performance was given by the Charles County Youth Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Roy Jenkins and Mr. Larry Keiffer. 

The orchestra performed the Concerto for 2 Violins in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 8 by Antonio Vivaldi, with Kathleen Clark and Benjamin Brown playing the violin solos.  Next, Adagio, from the Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major by Haydn was performed.  The Cello soloist was Nathaniel Taylor.   Finally, the "Goldfinch" Concerto by Antonio Vivaldi was performed featuring Lucy Snell (flute), Nathaniel Taylor, a Kennedy Center Scholar (cello) and Lori Dean (harpsichord).  Dr. Jenkins wrote a clever version of "Happy Birthday" and the audience was invited so sing along at the end of the "celebration." 

Between performances, participants were treated  to refreshments provided by the participating teachers, parents and Chick-fil-a.  Thank you to the many who provided all the wonderful treats.



All in all, there were nearly 400 people (total) present for this event.  Many of the audience members who came to attend a specific recital chose to stay for at least one of the other performances.  One of the families who came from my studio brought their daughter for the 2:15 recital and enjoyed it so much that they stayed until the very last note was played at the CCYO performance.

A special thank you to Judy Dalton, the chairperson for this event who put in many, many hours of preparation; to Lori Davis, who secured the use of the harpsichord and to all the teachers who supported this event by sharing their students and their talents.  Participating MTACC teachers were Michele Avrick, Lynne Bouchard, Judy Dalton, Lori Davis, Angela Garvey, Krista Keysar and Lucy Snell.

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Thank you to the following businesses and individuals who supported this event with donations of goods or services: