Saturday was the day of the annual recital of the school where I've been taking lessons. A good time was had by all.

For this recital there was one other adult taking part. His kids are taking lessons, and out of the idea of fair play, he took lessons also. This was a good thing, although I was still the oldest person there.

The kids are great, and there is a lot to learn from them and their approach to the recital. They don't fret about performing, they just go out and do what they do and are happy with that. I try my best to emulate them, though not totally successfully.

Most of the kids are really young kids, only a few teenagers in the bunch. The rehearsal was fun, luckily no eyes were lost to errant violin bows. They ran short of time, however, and I didn't get any time on the piano, a nice Yamaha grand.

I watched the first two thirds of the show from the audience. My girlfriend wouldn't miss these for the world and so I have no choice but to play in them. The violin must be a tough instrument, they all sounded pretty rough. The pianists sounded much better, especially those later in the program. Mostly pieces form kid's method books. a lot of "Indian Song". One girl did a very nice job on "Malaguena".

I headed to the Green Room, and going down the stairs leading there touched the handrail. Something very gooey covered the rail and my hand.

The other adult, Glenn I., is very brave. the last recital he performed the first movement of "Moonligh Sonata", for this one he had a Chopin Waltz. he had a couple of rough spots, but he has a pretty good touch and sense of dynamics.

They called me and I went out to play "La Pastorale" by Burgmuller. It's a nice piece and I enjoy it a lot. It got off to a great start. things were going smoothly and I was starting to feel kind of smug about it. Then, at the cadence ending the "B" section, I screwed up. I didn't hesitate, though, and faked a measure to get back on track. That got the ending section off to a good start, but now the tempo was too fast, and the dynamics were not even an after thought. The wheels came off in the last section, but not too badly.

I walked off stage and my teacher was their with a big grin. "I almost pulled it off!", I said. She said, "You did a great job covering up the cadence!" She gave me a high five, and then went to take care of one of the kids.

I went back out into the audience and watched one of the teenagers play the "Raindrop Prelude." Wow, he did a great job, very impressive.

The best was saved for last. Little Christopher R. came out to play Clementi. He's been playing for about a year and a half. He's been at all of the recitals I've been at, and he's the reason my girlfriend attends. His feet are a good foot off the ground when he sits at the piano. His playing is really nice, he's got expression nailed. My girlfriend wanted me to get his autograph, but he doesn't know how to write yet.

After, Mexican and margaritas put an end to a fun, yet tense, evening.

After having watched a number of violin recitals with young children over the years, I'm convinced that allowing first year violinists to perform is cruel and unusual punishment for both performer and spectator. But by two years things are starting to come together.

I'm glad my daughter is comtemplating the clarinet next year instead of the violin. Although there is a quite steep learning curve to get a decent tone out of the reed, it's nowhere close to getting an in-tune, non-screechy tone on the string instruments.

Well done for your own performance

Wow, I'm impressed. I used to do ok in recital halls as a kid, but now I think I'm too nervous for that. Getting dressed up and playing in front of a whole bunch of strangers? Hmmm

Awesome! Nothing like the feeling after a successful recital—and yes I consider being able to effectively cover a flub a success.

Congratulations, Gary! *Everybody* makes mistakes while playing in public. Being able to cover up, or recover from, a mistake is the mark of a pro.

Don't get me started on the violin. Even after two years of violin in school, my son manages to hit, at best, maybe 2% of all notes played even close to their intended pitch.

Thanks all for the kind words. If I had played that piece perfectly my teacher would probably have been less pleased. It's like she wants me to goof just for the experience.

Monica, one cute little girl came out to play violin. She was all set up to play, and I'm thinking, "Wow, I've never seen a violin played southpaw." She was just about to start, when she noticed, and changed over to the conventional manner.