SEATTLE — A Kirkland fifth grade class is now calling themselves musical composers after the Seattle Symphony played a song they wrote.
The Henry David Thoreau Elementary students were part of the Seattle Symphony’s Link Up program, which teaches third through fifth-grade students to sing, play music, and ultimately gives them a chance to hang out with the symphony.
Each year the symphony holds a competition asking schools to submit a short piece written by students. The symphony arranges the submitted compositions and plays the winning piece.
On Thursday, the Seattle Symphony played the composition the Kirkland students wrote in front of a sold-out crowd at Benaroya Hall.
For a lot of kids, it's the first time they've had any exposure to the symphony, or even visiting Seattle.
Amy Heald, the collaborative learning manager for the Seattle Symphony, said the winner was picked based on this year's theme, which was Sounds of Your School.
"They really embodied their school and the sounds from their school. So, in the composition, you'll hear sounds like a glissando, a whole bunch of notes in a row on the xylophone, which is supposed to symbolize backpacks being zipped up. You'll hear the timpani being hit really, really hard, which represents students stomping up the stairs," Heald said.
Overall, there were 13 submissions this year. As you can imagine, the kids loved the experience.
"I felt like I was a part of something, and I felt really special like I was one in a million," said fifth-grader Trey Kennebrew.