Musical Musings and More

Last Saturday was C's first ever cello recital. It was lovely and she did a fantastic job. My mom accompanied her on the piano - they both had fun.

Yesterday evening was C's first ever band concert. I love their teacher and all the kids looked so happy to be there. C is playing alto saxophone.

She says she wants to continue with both cello and saxophone for the time being. We approach cello more formally - there are weekly lessons and the expectation of daily practice. Saxophone is more just fun - she is in the school band and they have group lessons there about once a week. C sometimes will practice saxophone at home, but most of the work is done at school. My husband played saxophone when he was in high school and he attempts to help her from time to time (C is typically less than thrilled about that). We'll see how things go... 

E has his auditions for the youth orchestra this evening and he really hopes to get into the first violins section. He just had his bow rehaired by a local luthier and that was an awesome experience. This guy, in his 70's, is a cellist and also runs his business or repairing and selling violins and cellos. E had a great time chatting with him, and came out of the shop kind of dazed, saying "wow, making violins would be a fun job...". E is all over the place when it comes to careers - and that's totally fine and healthy, I know. It's fun to see him exploring and thinking through the possibilities - one day, he is talking about NASA and airspace engineering (and looking at relevant college programs & requirements), and the next day he is all about crafting violins.

H has her Algebra Keystones this week and she is a bit stressed about it. She has a recital coming up in 1.5 weeks... H has been complaining about our piano and she has a good point. It's been a bit rough - there is only so much our piano tuner can do, and he says refurbishing it would not be a good idea. I am adding "find a new piano" to my list of big projects...