And the winner is.....

January 4, 2009 at 9:23 PM

About three weeks ago, my daughter was notified that she was one of five finalists in a concerto competition sponsored by her youth orchestra. The finalists were choosen from the whole state of Indiana. It wasn't until after I saw the list of performance concertos... that I started to freak out. Her finals consisted of a piano solo by Grieg, one violin concerto by Wieniawski another by Bruch and a cello concerto by Saint-Saens. I thought to myself, "How could my daughter's Haydn Concerto in G compare to those concertos?

During the weeks that followed, both my daughter and I concluded that it was indeed a true honor to be placed in the finals.

*********

When we walked into the warm-up room, the sound of strings filled the room. It was then when, to my surprise, negative thoughts filled my head. "What are we doing here?" But I quickly shook them off and immediately turned to my daughter who looked like she had the same concern. I looked her in the eyes and told her that she can't worry about the others in the room; she must block them out to practice on her own.

Her performance went really well. She played really clean and accurate. She really did her personal best and she was proud of herself.

In the end, she won 3rd place; which both her and I were REALLY happy!

Now, if I could only afford a nice violin... ahh that's another blog :)

From Paul G.
Posted on January 5, 2009 at 11:30 AM

I get the same feeling every time I walk into a room with players that I'll be competing against. But it only lasts a second.

I find it quite how at orchestra festivals, it carries the competitiveness of a sporting event. This is especially similar during band festivals.

Good for your daughter though :)

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