I got to the intermediate school at 8:45 and went inside. The teacher was waiting for the buses to arrive and I told her that I had followed one in so there was at least one there already. She said that was great and that they would have to wait for the second bus before loading. We waited and waited until the vice principal went outside to talk to the bus driver to find out when the other bus would be there. That's when they found out that they were only getting one bus. The max on a bus for intermediate kids is 85 and there were 78 kids so they said there would be plenty of room. But they didn't take into account their instruments! You can't put a bass on your lap and have it work out too well.
The vice principal scrambled to get another bus while the teacher and the beginning orchestra went on the one that was there. I was left in charge of the intermediate orchestra. WHOA! I was to wait with them, load them on the bus, take roll, and then get them to the festival. It was crazy but we made it.
The festival was behind so we didn't have to rush. They were able to warm up and practice a bit before their performance before the judges. They did a great job.
They played 3 songs and then one of the judges did a critique of them. He got on stage and taught them a lot about how to play as an orchestra, i.e., make sure your bow strokes are the same as your neighbor so they look uniform. It was fun to watch but took forever!
The kids didn't get back to school until about 2 hours after they were scheduled to get back but it all worked out. They received an Excellent on their rating.
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