Auditions

Brigham tried out for the regional middle school orchestra, which was a much, much huger deal than I ever would have anticipated.  He was sponsored by the orchestra director at Canyon Vista, who kept talking about how competitive the auditions are, and how few kids get in.  I wasn't worried at all, Brigham is a great violinist.  He got the audition music a few weeks ahead of time, and had been practicing diligently.  When we got to the auditions early one very, very rainy Saturday morning, I was blown away by the number of kids there, simply for the violin auditions!  There were well over 100 kids and their parents all crammed into the cafeteria of a middle school in Round Rock.  It was amazing just watching and listening to all those kids warming up and practicing.  The audition was the most formal I've ever heard of.  The kids all went in groups to the audition room, and one at a time went up to play the selections in front of a panel of judges sitting behind a screen (I guess so they wouldn't be influenced by age/gender/race).  Each child played the first selection, and then a second panel of judges came in, and they all played the second selection, and then a THIRD panel of judges came in and they played the last selection.  When Brigham came out, he had a very unhappy look on his face, and my stomach just dropped.  He told me he played his first two selections perfectly, but absolutely flubbed the third.  He said he played it better the first time he looked at the music.  I don't know about that, but I know the crushing disappointment of messing up on something that you had played PERFECTLY a hundred times before.  But, that's how it went.  Both of us were not expecting him to be accepted.  But later in the afternoon the results were posted online, and he made first violin!  Toward the back, to be sure, but he made it!  He was very happy.