Practice, Practice, Practice

This year Emily was chosen to participate in the District Middle School Honor Band. It's a two day event where students from six middle schools come together, practice all day, and then give a concert at night.  Madison went last year and learned a lot so we were excited for Emily to have the same opportunity.

Unlike the High School Honor Band, there is no audition process.  Each school is given a certain number of slots and the band teacher selects which students will participate.  I kind of wish they did have to audition because it would have forced Emily to practice more.  We very rarely hear the clarinet being played in our home.  If Emily is good enough to be selected for this without ever practicing (it's not super competitive, but still), I can only imagine how much she would improve with daily practice. 

I usually ask Emily before the concert which song she likes the most or which song she thinks the band plays best, but I didn't get a chance to this time.  I was again thankful for Madison's experience last year when I remembered that the director from Ramstein Middle School had done a really fun song.  I checked the program and found that she had again chosen a great song, Don't Stop Believing, and I knew that's what I would be filming.  You can't actually see Emily in this video; she's blocked by the conductor but she really was there playing.  Enjoy - and next time you see Emily, tell her to practice!




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is Faith?

Image
What would you say if someone asked you what faith is? In Hebrews 11, Paul defined faith as "the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The assurance of things hoped for - faith is knowing that because of Jesus Christ, we can hope for a brighter future. I feel as if hope and faith are one and the same. Life can be heartbreakingly difficult sometimes and even though I know that challenges are there to help us learn and grow, I sure wish I didn't have to go through those hard times. When I have felt surrounded by struggles and I couldn't see any way that things would ever get better, the only thing that has kept me moving forward is hope. Not the kind of hope that is sort of wishful like hoping your team wins a World Cup game, but hope that is sure because it is based on Christ. Having faith in Jesus Christ is having hope and knowing that His promises are sure.  The evidence of things not seen - faith in God grows when we see Him working in our...
Read more

Anxiety, Friendship, and Insecurity

This post has been kicking around in my head for a while now. My emotions have been closer to the surface lately - which can be both good and bad.  For a couple of weeks last month it was a bad thing and I found myself crying at pretty much everything and feeling alone and friendless even when I was surrounded by people. You'd think I'd be better at making friends after almost forty years of moving and having to form new connections at each new place. Instead, the older I get, the more difficult the process becomes. Even after I make friends deep down I question if we're really friends. I think these feelings of insecurity are part of what makes me willing to do almost anything for my friends. If I do nice things for you maybe you'll continue to tolerate my presence? I think I do a pretty good job hiding my insanity. I can fake confidence really well - smiling and laughing and making small talk. And then I go home and overanalyze and question every little thing I said...
Read more

Four Decades

Image
Birthdays are markers in our lives. Moving from one decade to another is a milestone that is not marked by an accomplishment or an important decision, but simply your age. That's something you can't control as time keeps moving forward whether we're ready for it or not. I can honestly say that I'm not bothered by turning forty and that I still look forward to my birthdays. But there's no denying that those milestone birthdays (you know the ones, they end in zero) are a big deal. A time that, for me, leads to some looking back to see if I've accomplished anything worthwhile in the previous decade of my life or in any of the decades of my life.  So I found photos of myself at all those other ages that end in zero. Maybe if I take it a decade at a time it will be easier to see what I've learned? Seriously, whose dog is this? Italy, 1981 Okay, this first one is already breaking the rules as it's not from a milestone birthday. I have two pictures...
Read more