My daughter's first violin concert

My daughter started playing the violin this fall, which means she's been playing for about a month now. She's not so into practicing, but then, she's only 7. I was shocked when we got a note from her teacher asking if she wanted to participate in a concert together with music students from all over the district, the local gospel choir, and a couple of professional musicians. Beginner violinists are not anything anyone would want to listen to, not even their parents. My daughter can't read music yet and can barely play open strings. This couldn't possibly be good.

Much to my surprise, it was good. Hats off to the strings teacher, or whoever it was who did the orchestration, because they figured out how to make beginners playing mostly open strings and simple rhythms not only fit in but contribute to a really good performance. The beginners played on four of the songs and had front row seats for the rest. There were some solos by a few of the older kids who were also quite good.

The pros, Triple & Touch, put on quite a show. They did some songs where the kids played backup. They also did some songs where the young soloists played along with them. Furthermore, they did some musical stunts/jokes. At first I thought this was kind of hokey, but it grew on me, and clearly the rest of the audience responded well to it.

The show was two hours long, but the kids held up well (better than my husband anyhow, who's not good at sitting still). At first I was horrified that the tickets cost over $20 each, but the music school itself is really cheap, so I figured this was how they made up the difference. I expected to see only parents in the audience, but the school gym was packed full of parents, grandparents, and extended families. I think they were all pleased with the show.