Dexter Student Musicians Showcase Talent at Grandparents Day Concert

By Barbara Read

If you haven’t heard of the “Rising Stars” music program, you are missing out on one of the best creative independent music experiences for students in Dexter. 

The Rising Stars summer music program is headed by Gordon Darr of the Hudson Education Center. The Hudson Education Center is a local non-profit, focused on providing performing arts opportunities for local youth, regardless of a family's ability to pay. The group is in its third summer of operation.

Through the program, Dexter band and orchestra students are given the opportunity to showcase a favorite piece or two at venues around the community. The program is equal parts practice and performance.

“My focus is on preparing solos that emphasize the audience performance experience, rather than technical difficulty,” Darr said. “Most of our performers will be incoming seventh graders performing their first solos before a live audience. Solo music is an important part of the band and orchestra experience at Mill Creek Middle School, and our students get a head start by preparing these outstanding numbers during the summer.”

Students at Mill Creek are encouraged to participate in the Solo and Ensemble festivals later in the year, and the Rising Stars music program gives them the opportunity to begin working on their pieces.

The instruments include flute, violin, viola, clarinet, trumpet, cello, french horn, mallets, guitar and vocal solos. New this year is a group of flutists performing the popular “Penny Whistle Song” by Leroy Anderson. The selections range from classical pieces by Wolfgang Mozart and Antonin Dvorak through hymns and show pieces like “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables to contemporary pleasers like Coldplay’s “Clocks.”

Darr has taken the Rising Stars students in small groups to Camp Dexter, the Chelsea Retirement Community and the . The performances count as credit toward community service hours for school, confirmation and cub scouts.

The students will all be playing together Sunday at 2 p.m. for the Grandparents Day concert at the Dexter District Library.

“All are welcome to join us for this performance and encourage the young musicians in our community,” Darr said.

The concert is free and open to the public.