Brianna Drevlow: December 2010

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

12/17/2010 Singing the National Anthem at Prowler Swim Meet

Swimming is a big deal at our house. Three of my brothers are on the Prowler Swim Team. They train daily swimming thousands of yards. They usually put in about 5000 yards per day which is about 3 miles. Many people shudder at the thought of walking or running three miles. Imagine swimming it! And they do it fast. This particular day I drove my brothers to the meet and dropped off some items at concessions. Their coach mentioned that they didn't have anyone to sing the National Anthem at this meet so I volunteered! It was a great opportunity to sing our National Anthem to a packed pool! Go Prowlers!

Did I mention that you can swim (although not this time of year...) at most Minnesota State Parks?

12/12/2010 Christmas Caroling with the Girl Scouts

Girl Scouts is one of the many organizations I support. They help develop young girls into future leaders by providing lots of activities and opportunities. One of these opportunities includes "giving back" to the community. Every year, our local girl scout service unit assembles and travels to local nursing homes to sing Christmas Carols to the residents. By the photos you can see that girls of many ages come out to sing. There are usually girls ranging from Kindergarden all the way up to seniors in High School. We usually first sing a good dozen carols or more and then we spend some time mingling with the residents. We also distribute Christmas cards and sometimes wreaths to the residents, too. The event is always lots of fun. We usually cap off the event with a short pizza party of our own where Santa and Mrs. Claus usually attend. Merry Christmas!

12/11/2010 Musick's Empire Choir Concert

Thief River Falls has the most amazing High School Choir around. That being said, the director, Darcy Reese, gives her heart and soul to bring out the musical talent of all her students. She does this by putting us through session after session of drilling, hours of sectionals, numerous rehearsals, and then she adds a pinch of perfectionism to the mix. The results are staggering. She has multiple concerts and they always sell out. But the most important part is that she puts the students first. Her audiences listen to students excel. If you ever have the opportunity to take in one of these shows, don't hesitate. Put it on your bucket list. I have some photos of our choir from this year's Christmas Concert.

She is constantly pushing the choir to be at its best and she puts us together with some pretty amazing artists, too. Last year we performed with Robert Robinson and the Twin Cities Community Gospel Choir not only in Thief River Falls, but also in Minneapolis, Northfield, and at New York City's Lincoln Center, where Mrs. Reese even arranged a piano solo for me! Thank you Mrs. Reese!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

12/9/2010 Video, "Winter Wonderland" with piano and strings, featuring Miss Minnesota, Kathryn Knuttila

Winter Wonderland

Traditional Christmas Carol

Arranged by Kathryn Knuttila and Brianna Drevlow

12/9/2010 Christmas Gala with Miss Minnesota

In late November I received an excited call from my good friend, Kathryn Knuttila. She was hosting a Christmas Gala in Frazee on December 9, 2010 and was hoping that my brothers and sisters and I could come and play some piano and string pieces with her. I can't begin to tell you how excited I was! I have grown up watching Kathryn play piano and to have the opportunity to share a stage with her, well, would be nothing short of spectacular! So, I said, "Yes, yes, yes!" and began planning and arranging some pieces for the Drevlows to play with Miss Minnesota. I was very excited for many reasons, but one of them was that the event would allow my brothers and sisters and I to play some unique pieces that I had arranged. I took some Christmas classics, jazzed them up a bit, and then added in some funky jazz bass with my All-State brother Brett and some walking bass lines from my 7th grade brother Brock. Brayden didn't want to be left out so we added some violin accompaniments for him, and then what to do with Brigham and Brielle...hmmm. Brigham decided to have some fun with the Christmas sleigh bells and Brielle added some percussion with the cymbals. Ta-da! The Drevlows had some very fun Christmas pieces. Now...just to match our hectic schedules with one very busy Miss Minnesota. Fortunately, Kathryn's parents are the nicest people in the world. They invited us over to their house for a rehearsal with Kathryn and there we put the finishing touches on our part of the Gala. Needless to say, the event was a smashing success (see newspaper article) and we are very thankful to Kathryn for the opportunity to perform with her. Thank you Frazee and Miss Minnesota!

12/9/2010 My First "Junior Explorer"

As you know, my platform as Miss Red River Valley Outstanding Teen 2010 is "Explore Your Backyard, Visit your Minnesota State Parks and Trails," so I have been meticulously planning how to promote that message. I will be coming to a school near you to share the importance of using our state parks to become fit, all while learning about our State's history and spending time with our families. I'll also be playing piano in many churches while talking with their congregations about my platform too. In preparation for these events, I have created a platform brochure telling my story, and created a presentation and badge to present to youth and teens after I speak. This badge is to encourage them to EXPLORE THEIR BACKYARDS and VISIT OUR STATE PARKS! I had the opportunity to share my message with Miss Minnesota Kathryn Knuttila, who became my first "official" Junior Explorer! She too, encourages you to visit a State Park near you! By the way.... did you know there is a State Park within 50 miles of every Minnesotan? Check out the Minnesota State Parks and Trails map here.

12/2/2010 Elk's Lodge Christmas Party

Thief River Falls has one of the most active and friendly Elks Lodges that I know. Their Lodge is located right in the middle of downtown Thief River Falls, but more importantly, the lodge is positioned squarely in the community as ambassadors of good will and community spirit. They do so many things for our community, from a very public Flag Day observance to the annual Christmas Dinner for kids. I was able to attend the Christmas Dinner with my family again this year and had the special treat of getting a photo with Santa! And he even asked what I wanted for Christmas! Thank you Elks Lodge!

11/23/2010 Fargo Moorhead Parade of Lights

It was an extra chilly November night for this year's Parade of Lights but wow, was it fun! I met up with Miss Moorhead 2010 Tiffany Sjulstad- Peterson and our pageant director, Melissa Bunkowske, about an hour before the parade. Melissa and her family had so wonderfully decorated another great truck supplied by our friends at Muscatell! We were glowing with lit trees as we drove across Moorhead to the parade starting point. Once we arrive, Tiffany and I went for a stroll through a well-light up downtown Moorhead to visit with other parade entrants. It was fun seeing all the Christmas spirit on display!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Video, "Faith Noel"

Faith Noel

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Arr. Brianna and Brayden Drevlow

My family loves the Trans-Siberian Orchestra! We have been listening to their Christmas music for years so Brayden and I had a great time arranging their "Faith Noel" for piano and violin. I hope you enoy it!

Last May our school invited Mark Wood (one of TSO's violinists) to do a work shop and concert. We were able to play several pieces on stage with him. Lots of fun for all. We certainly learned how to "Electrify" our stings!