【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. 

【红霞译文】

        啊……世上恐怕没有什么地方会像我们宾州蒙哥马利小学这样用“春季管乐演奏会”的方式来拉开美国阵亡将士纪念日长周末和暑假序幕的，至于为什么把时下行将六月的音乐会称作“春季”演奏会，只能任你自己琢磨了。

        本场音乐会非同凡响之处在于《时代礼赞》，这是美国年轻有为的作曲家泰勒‧格兰特为激发孩子们的上进心和创造力，两年前于十七岁花季之际，专门为少儿乐队谱写的一首乐曲，并因此名声大噪，得以引起我们乐队老师的关注。在我看来，这部具有现代风格的作品难度不小。

        优美的旋律牵动着我的手指在萨克斯管上轻飞曼舞，不知为什么这首曲子令我感觉好像是来自天国的音乐。更为确切地说，《时代礼赞》气势浑厚，生机勃发，如同走进一片欣欣向荣的天地，每个音符都被雕琢得恰到好处。当然，其它四首曲目也非常出色，特别是《建筑工地》富有爵士节奏，只不过《时代礼赞》风格独特，再加上鲜明的主题和时代的韵律，令我身心陶醉不已。

        我们乐队演出火爆，点燃了全场观众高涨热情，仿佛快要掀翻天花板。我禁不住在想，良好的开端是否总能带来圆满的结束﹖