My first Spring concert

I love this blog stuff. It allows me to go back in time and relive some really fun times. 

My first Spring show was a serious blast. Having been a basketball coach at the school since 1979 I  knew all the families. That's why the principal asked me to take over the music teacher post in 1999. The school had gone through three teachers in three years and now it was my turn. Lucky for me I had no training as a teacher. This allowed a measure of largesse granted to me that continued for the next 15 years. Having retired from a cool job as a projectionist, which had followed a successful career as a musician and a year as a web developer (when the web was in it's infancy) becoming a teacher was a great challenge.  My experience meant I knew how to use technology from the get go (or is that net know?) and I could play many instruments. 

I'm putting the show on-line here. In 2000 we had one VHS camera. Wow. Not exactly the YouTube experience we have today!

At the time of the first show in 2000, the school had invoked a no-cut policy for the basketball program. Not that we ever cut anybody anyway, but we went along with the deal to co-opt any chance for an administration to impose a mandatory playing time quota for the varsity. Forcing playing time on a coach is obviously a form of false psuedo-egalitarian Calvinism which on theological grounds must be opposed. Hence my first Spring Show title and theme "Short Cuts".  As in "No Cuts".

Of the many humorous moments, one in particular had significance for the future. A collection of Fifth grade boys singing sections of Gilbert & Sullivan's "Modern Major General" from "The Pirates of Penzance". This led to exploring the works of G&S and within a few years we performed (as the Eighth grade musical, "The Pirates of Penzance" and also "The Mikado". Not junior, easy to do versions, but (ta da, drum roll and cymbal crash please) exactly as written!