May 31st, Sarah had her first violin concert. Her teacher is a really nice, younger lady with a total love of the violin that she wants to pass on to her other students. She organized a little concert where everyone could play something, no matter their skill level. Sarah has only been taking lessons since February, so I was kind of surprised when she came home from class and told me that she had a piece she needed to learn for a concert!
The whole thing was scheduled to start before Chris got home from work, and as he put it. "I will wait and come to a concert when she can really play something." haha So I dropped Sarah off early, for a last minute practice, then went back home and picked up every one else. It was being held in the auditorium of a school in the neighboring town. Fortunately, for us, that meant it was just down the hill from our house. :) We wisely chose seats in the very, very back row, so as not to disturb any of the parents wanting to listen to their child prodigies. Also, we were the last to arrive, had to grab some chairs from the stack to the side, and put them in a row for ourselves. 🙂
Sarah's little piece was right in the middle of the whole concert. She was very nervous, I could tell, because she kept her head down the whole time so she wouldn't have to look at anyone. But she played very nicely. And of course, the man on the piano accompanying her did a wonderful job as well.
It always surprises me when Sarah shows these instances of shyness, as she is usually a very outgoing, confident child. Perhaps she was worried that her simple piece wouldn't sound as nice as the other, more experienced players' pieces. It sounded wonderful to me, and the kids were all very impressed with their sister's skills.
After Sarah played, some of the kids asked if we could please leave now. :( I said no, that would be the height of rudeness and we would stay until all the children had played their songs. Soon, some of the much older students started playing, and the songs were really beautiful, so the kids sat back and let themselves just enjoy the music. The whole thing only took an hour, start to finish, and then we all went up front to congratulate Sarah. When we got home, everyone told Chris all about it, all at once, very loudly, which meant he understood absolutely nothing that was said, and they had to start all over. But it gave her a taste of public performing on an instrument, and I hope, the desire to keep practicing until she can play as well as the older kids.