Spring Piano Recital

On Saturday between helping Grandpa move out of his place in the morning and into Darla's house in the afternoon, Zoë and Miriam had their end-of-year piano recital and awards ceremony. I should probably clarify that "year," in this case, refers to the school year (which our piano studio follows). My littler kids were confused about all the different meanings "a year" can hold—a fiscal year, a school year, a calendar year, a leap year...

Anyway, we had a crew helping at Grandpa's house in the morning, and then parted ways—Rachel and Benjamin went up to Darla and Grandpa's—and the rest of us went to the recital.

A couple of the moms were talking about Phoebe, asking me if she was the same little baby they'd seen at the recital last year...and she was the same baby—just a year older! 

Here she is in May 2023:

And here she is in May 2024, reading a book to the cat after forcibly "tucking" her in a fort of pillows:

We really only see each other (as parents of piano students) a few times a year, so Phoebe's growth seemed quite incredible to them. But, really, I told them, it's incredible to hear the same group of kids play year after year (because we've been at the same studio for a few years now). The kids all did great!

And on that not (see what I did there?), here's Zoë playing two of the pieces she memorized for her auditions (she actually played five).

Zoë score superior ratings at her recent audition, so she was awarded a pin and a certificate.

And here's Miriam playing a couple of the Bach pieces she memorized (out of the fifteen she memorized for her Bach competition, a half hour program in total):

She got trophies for three consecutive years of superior ratings in her organ repertoire and organ hymn categories. She got a pin and a plaque (forthcoming) for her Bach pieces. And she had a handful of certificates as well. She's quite relieved that these auditions are over and is looking forward to her next challenge.

Last night Andrew and I were talking about the difference between "challenge" and "hard," because I said that something sounded "hard" and he said it merely sounded like a "challenge." 

"Isn't that the same thing?" I asked.

"Not at all," Andrew insisted. "Calling something a challenge motivates you to do that thing. Calling something hard makes you want to give up."

That seems like pretty sound logic to me. 

Here's a wonderful batch of students ready to take on new challenges: