We had a graduation party for the three seniors in our branch. The theme was “One Smart Cookie.” Heidi Miller and I made over 500 cookies.
Emma’s choir and theater director came (Mrs Ideker and Mr Doering)
Ladies in our branch celebrating our seniors
Emma’s last choir concert; these are all the graduating seniors with the choir director, Meg Ideker
Emma had a wonderful senior year! At the High School award ceremony she received several awards: Lifetime Fitness Grade 12, Chinese as a Foreign Language Advanced, Thespian of the Year, and Musician of the Year.
Only five awards in the High School were given with an explanation and Emma received two of them. I had tears as Mrs Ideker read the following:
“Our 2016 Musician of the Year award goes to a very deserving individual who has made an enormous commitment to our Fine Arts department, in particular our music department.
This person has:
Sung in Bel Canto and then Chamber Singers during her 4 years at Concordia
Has participated in Before School Women’s Ensemble for all 4 years of High School
Has participated in APAC Choir since her sophomore year, at: Brent Internation School with Dr. Peral Shangkuan, Concordia International School with Dr. Jerry Blackstone, and Canadian Academy with Ms. Claudia Rheinck
Has participated in APAC Dance as a freshman, and has been a member of the Phoenix Dancers.
Has traveled to Luxembourg in Europe to sing with the AMIS Honor Choir with Dr. Mark Sirett
Has traveled to New York City to sing with the Chamber Singers in Lincoln Center with Mr. Eric Whitacre
Has participated in Concordia Cabaret all 4 years of High School where she has written and performed her own music
Has been a member of Tri-M Music Honor Society for 2 years
Has taken AP Music Theory
Has been part of the musical all 4 years in High School
She has taken private lessons in piano, voice, guitar and dance
And she is matriculating to BYU
Please join me in congratulating a very well rounded musician and singer; one of our favorite sopranos; a kind, loving, enthusiastic, positive, happy and simply amazing young woman: Miss Emma Larsen as our 2016 Musician of the Year.
(The Thespian of the Year award was just as impressive but the director hasn’t emailed me what he said yet.)
Graduation was Saturday, May 21st. The school turned our HS gym into a beautiful space for graduation. The speeches were inspiring. Then all the families went to the Marriott hotel for a buffet lunch celebration.
Head of school, Greg Pinnick
Grant, Heidi and Creed Miller
Emma, James, Luke and Grant Miller
From Emma:
"The week after I graduated, I travelled to Japan with my three closest friends from school, Sydney Larson, Bahar Haste, and Talya Estey. We went first to Kyoto, where my favorite activity was renting bikes for a day and biking on beautiful paths along rivers and between the popular temples and sites in the city. We also went to an incredible fire ramen restaurant where they caught the bowls of ramen on fire right in front of you—it was pretty scary, but such an awesome experience! After a few days in Kyoto, we took a train to Tokyo, where we visited all the popular tourist attractions and a fun modern art museum, and ended the trip with a rainy (but still perfect) day at Tokyo Disneyland. One of the best things about this trip was that we got to make our own itinerary and figure out how to navigate and travel safely. I’m so grateful for my awesome friends and the incredible experiences we shared in Japan!! I’ll never forget this opportunity!"
