【Aiden in English】

        Ahh... There was nothing like a Spring Band Concert to kick off the holiday prior to Memorial weekend and summer at Montgomery ES in PA. Why is it called "Spring Concert" when it's almost June? Go figure.

        What truly made this concert different was a single piece called "Anthem of an Era" by Tyler S. Grant. He wrote it at an extremely early age for the youth band. At 17 years old in 2012, Tyler composed it to inspire kids to be motivated and creative. It definitely worked, because he was famous enough to have captured our band teacher's attention. The contemporary music was exceptionally challenging for me.

        The beautiful tempo took my fingers on a joyride on the sax. I don't really know why it sounded like a song from heaven. Using my best words to describe it, I would think "Anthem of an Era" majestic and flourishing as a thriving world in harmony. Every note was crafted at its most favorable and successful place. The 4 other songs were great at the concert and all, especially "Construction Zone" with its cool groove. However "Anthem of an Era" stood out so unique that I got totally engaged myself with bold themes and driving rhythms in the mood.

        Our band was on fire and the crowd went berserk. It sounded like the ceiling would be blown apart. I can't help wondering if the start of the show is supposed to be better than the end. 

【紅霞譯文】

        啊……世上恐怕沒有什麼地方會像我們賓州蒙哥馬利小學這樣用“春季管樂演奏會”的方式來拉開美國陣亡將士紀念日長周末和暑假序幕的，至於為什麼把時下行將六月的音樂會稱作“春季”演奏會，只能任你自己琢磨了。

        本場音樂會非同凡響之處在於《時代禮讚》，這是美國年輕有為的作曲家泰勒‧格蘭特為激發孩子們的上進心和創造力，兩年前於十七歲花季之際，專門為少兒樂隊譜寫的一首樂曲，並因此名聲大噪，得以引起我們樂隊老師的關注。在我看來，這部具有現代風格的作品難度不小。

        優美的旋律牽動着我的手指在薩克斯管上輕飛曼舞，不知為什麼這首曲子令我感覺好像是來自天國的音樂。更為確切地說，《時代禮讚》氣勢渾厚，生機勃發，如同走進一片欣欣向榮的天地，每個音符都被雕琢得恰到好處。當然，其它四首曲目也非常出色，特別是《建築工地》富有爵士節奏，只不過《時代禮讚》風格獨特，再加上鮮明的主題和時代的韻律，令我身心陶醉不已。

        我們樂隊演出火爆，點燃了全場觀眾高漲熱情，仿佛快要掀翻天花板。我禁不住在想，良好的開端是否總能帶來圓滿的結束﹖