ｃｌａｓｓｉｃ ｇｕｉｔａｒ

Riley had his final guitar concert this past week. And I didn't get any pictures. I got lots of video, but when it counted most my camera stopped recording. Big time proud mommy fail!!! 

It is amazing to see how far Riley has come in 6 short months. I even see his confidence shining through when he has a guitar in his hands. 

His final concert was in Aspen at the Harris Concert Hall. They had 70+ kids playing...each class had a chance to perform about 3 short songs. Then they all came together to play "Ode to Joy" together. Riley only had 3 kids in his class...it baffles me, because the class was super affordable and offered to anyone interested in learning to play a very cool instrument. I was actually worried they were going to take the class away from Glenwood Springs because of the low attendance. Thankfully, that didn't happen. 

Now only 2 students were allowed to play solos. Riley was one of them!! 

Here is a short video (again blogger hates long videos) of him playing. 

I'm actually shocked the video isn't shaking like crazy, because I was a nervous wreck for him. Not that I didn't have any confidence with him, but if I were in his shoes, with all eyes on me, I'd be in panic mode!! 

I asked Riley if he was nervous afterwards, and he said he was very nervous. But it sure didn't show in the video. He said he messed up multiple times, but I could never tell. He nailed it in my eyes. Jake was so proud he had a couple tears he was trying so hard to hold back. 

The second kid that got to do a solo was a Christian. He was phenomenal. But he had been in this program for 4 years...I just looked at him and thought to myself, 'this could be Riley in 4 years.' Riley has truly discovered a natural talent. I can't thank Katie from 'Aspen Music Festivals and Schools' (AMFS) enough for jumping out at us at the Middle School Open House night last fall. If she hadn't, we probably would have never figured this talent out. 

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Now here is a little blurb of an email I received this week from Katie.

('Malaguena' is the name of Riley's solo)

Aspen Music is ready to invest in Riley. You see, when you find a real talent in a child, you feel pressure almost immediately to find ways to make sure the growth continues. The pressure of how we were going to make this happen has hit us hard. After the concert I got to speak with Katie. AMFS does a summer program for kids and they give free lessons to students along with giving the student free passes to several concerts that take place in Aspen each summer with an extra ticket for a parent. The program is called PALS. She said if Riley applied they would give him a full scholarship, no questions asked. It wasn't even an option to pass it up. Aspen Music sees so much potential in Riley and they want him to continue in the program.

Second, Katie said the "Lead Guitar" program had received an invitation to the "Shearer Summer Institute" in Zion, UT. The cost of the week long institute is $600, with the institute giving any Lead Guitar student an automatic $150 scholarship. Katie officially offered a $350 scholarship for Riley sponsored by AMFS. Leaving a grand total of $100 for us to pay if we can make it happen. How can we say no to this either?? Now this one isn't set in stone, we have a lot to arrange...Zion is about 7 hours away and Riley is only going to have just turned 13, so it is a big decision with lots of details to work out. But it is an experience we are going to do our best to make happen... I've only heard about how beautiful Zion is. Riley will get to hike around there daily. Jake is going to try to make it work with his schedule as soon as we are able to commit.

I'm just so proud of Riley and see big things coming in his bright future!