My Son the Musician.

Last night was the Winter Holiday Recital. My son's first recital. I was looking forward to it, as I look forward to all of these kid performance things. Nothing like a kid on stage to make a mom melt. But, since I have been to many such performances over the years, I wasn't really looking forward to a strikingly fabulous performance. First year band students, winter concert, usually is not impressive except that the audience is parents and those are our babies.

I was wrong. No, my child didn't do something beyond kid cute bordering on pathological thereby vanquishing mommy wow weepiness. I was wrong because the kids were really, really, REALLY good. No, I don't know anything about music. I have no mentionable musical training (ok a couple semesters of guitar, a couple of years of elementary school violin, and a semester of community college "learn the piano", in all of these I was the WORST student. REALLY. I love music, but it is all mystical to me.) But, even parents in the know about music were impressed.

Now, all of this would be pointless in my mind, if these was just a band of tortured over-achievers with a band director who demanded obedience but gave nothing back to the children. I noticed something though. The band director definitely expected their attention. She certainly got it too. However, it was a band of kids, enjoying what they were doing. I know some of the children other than mine in the band. I definitely know my child. There was joy on their face as they played. They really liked what they were doing. I loved it, really loved it. A great concert without the tortured looks you sometimes see on very good but very intense young musicians. THAT is what is important to me as my son, the child who has always disliked that his mother can't clap in time with music (as a toddler he would take my hands in his to correct my beat) but also the child who really has never shown an interest in music until band was talked up by kids at the Meet the Middle School meetings. He still would rather sit in a quiet car than listen to music but he seems to love making music. His practice has gotten markedly better on a regular basis which is always nice around the house, so not only is the band good, but he seems to have the interest in being good. SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I love my kid, I love his music, I love the band director and assistant who are making music...not just literally but that music of joy, peace and achievement happen during what is a near universally regarded hard age.