The Sandy Bottom Orchestra

I'm always searching for music-related movies, and here is a sweet one that your whole family can enjoy.  There seems to be only a few movies like this that get made for television, so we were thrilled when we discovered it through NetFlix (because we don't have TV at home).  Based on the book by Garrison Keillor and his musician wife, Jenny Lind Nilsson, the storyline features a Midwest family who is trying to fit their classical-music personalities into a rural and not-so-cultural community.  If you live in a small town, you will easily relate to the issues. Set amongst a breathtakingly beautiful landscape, there is honesty about neighbors, marriage, and teenage peer pressure.  Not a love story (as the cover might suggest).  The mother hopes to use her piano degree and the daughter is a talented violinist, but both are wondering about their friends and their sanity.  Sound familiar?  In the end, the movie has a clear but not patronizing message about staying with your principles and offering understanding and forgiveness to others. Inspiring enough for me to take it to Youth Group in the near future.  And the music played (see list here) is quite good!

Violin Music and Suzuki Teachers

We rented “Music of the Heart” -- a movie about a Suzuki violin teacher, and I would recommend it for all violin students. Meryl Streep stars in this 1999 true story about a part-time music teacher in Harlem who dreams of making a difference. I highly recommend the finale – a concert featuring Marc O’Connor playing "Orange Blossom Special" with all the extras!! plus Joshua Bell, Gloria Estefan, and other famous music artists also make cameo appearances. For younger children, I might suggest fast-forwarding through the single-mom drama parts. But don't miss any of the violin playing/practising to see if you can recognize all the Book 1 songs! That was our favorite part. Plus Roberta Guaspari was not exactly sweet-natured when talking to her Suzuki students! Still a lovely music lesson for the whole family.

Sacred Music on Netflix

I just discovered that Netflix has a "Sacred Classical Music" genre which includes many fine-looking choices. Here are a few that I've added to my queue:

Live in Rome: The Tallis Scholars (we actually have this one at home right now)

Purcell: Sacred Music

Gregorian Chant: Songs of the Spirit

Faith of Our Fathers

Ave Verum: Popular Choral Classics