Three local children took honourable mentions this month for songs they composed on the piano in a recent international competition for young musicians.
The students of Music for Young Children, four-year-old Xavier Rocha, five-year-old Bethany Bohmer, and eight-year-old Baylie Anderson, took honourable mention amongst 12,000 competitors.
Their certified music teacher Lisa Siakaluk said she is very proud of all 40 students who participated in the contest.
Bethany and Baylie each wrote their songs about friends, called My Best Friend and Friendship respectively, while Xavier's song is called Snowboarding.
"Dannika has always been a great friend to me and the song reminded me of her," said Baylie.
Xavier is in the Sunshine 1 category for three- to five-year-olds, Bethany is in Sunshine 2 for five- and six-year-olds and Baylie is in Sunbeam 2 for seven- and eight-year-olds.
Essentially honourable mention is fifth place in the international competition and each child will receive a certificate for their accomplishment.
In the Music for Young Children program the children learn music by integrating keyboard, creative movement, rhythm, ear training, sight reading, music theory and composition.
To create the composition, the children took an idea and met the criteria of the competition including repeating a theme, adding retrograde, sequences, certain measures and keys, with the option of adding words. The composition also had to be presented in the child's own handwriting.
"The Music for Young Children program develops a love of music that will last well past the time an electronic toy will be left in the toy box," said Siakaluk.
