Student Spotlight: Kai Foster

Colonial Middle School seventh-grader Kai Foster has been selected to play clarinet in the Tri-County Concerts’ 83rd Annual Youth Festival Winners’ Recital on May 30.

Kai won second place in the Junior Winds category after auditioning for the part with other aspiring middle and high school students living in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. He decided to audition after his mother, Lilli Klotz Foster, told him about the competition.

Ms. Klotz Foster said she had performed in the group as a student, and thought it would be a good way for her son to receive feedback on his playing and to meet other young people excited about classical music. 

Kai said he rehearsed for the audition by working on fingering, air support, and embouchure (which is the way a player applies their mouth to the instrument’s mouthpiece). 

“I prepared in ways both mentally and technically,” he said. “One thing I did to prepare myself was reminding myself that some mistakes are okay.”

He will apply the same discipline as he prepares for the upcoming May 30th recital at West Chester University. In addition to practicing, he has also rehearsed with a pianist and listened to recordings. He will also apply what he’s learned through his musical studies at Colonial, which includes being able to take advice and hear music from a different perspective.

Kai has been playing clarinet for four years, and said he likes the instrument both as a player and a listener.

“I enjoy how smooth and articulate the sound of the clarinet is,” he said. “I also like how capable the clarinet is of being virtuosic but also melodic, when listening to others play it.”