Last year my son participated in a program that has several levels of orchestra and choir to choose from. The year could be described more accurately as testing the waters instead of fully participating. My son did not want to practice as often as necessary to fully benefit from the program. Since he was only in third grade, I didn’t want to force him to practice more and cause him to hate music. Throughout the year I reminded him that without practice, he would not advance as quickly as he would like. I don’t think he believed me until just a few weeks ago when we got “THE EMAIL” —-> insert scary movie music here.
The email in question contained a list of things returning students needed to prepare for their audition to move into a higher orchestra or choir. My son read the prep list and looked as though he could vomit all over the computer. He then turned to me and informed me of something that I already knew months ago – that he was not ready to audition for the next orchestra and would be stuck in the beginner orchestra for another year. Then a miracle took place….he said he was going to practice his violin without being reminded he had not yet practiced for the day. Before he walked away, I heard words moms don’t hear a lot, “You are right Mom, I should have practiced more last year.”
My son is now a boy on a mission….improve his skills to a point that the audition will not cause a vomit reaction next year LOL
Today we attended the orientation for the new year of the program. My son was quite relieved to learn that he is not the only returning student remaining in the beginner’s orchestra. I think my son’s concerns were relieved when one of the high school boys told my son that he had spent three years in the beginner program. He is now looking forward to the new year and improving his skills. Let’s hope his excitement level stays high and he completes his mission for the year so my computer monitor avoids his vomit reaction 
