We got there an hour early to find the assigned performance room and the woodwind warm up room. She went to warm up, and we waited for her in the hall by the room assigned to her.
When it was about 15 minutes before her solo time, she met us there at the door, a straight faced bundle of nerves.
She checked in at the table by the door and when it was her turn they called her name.
There were 2 judges and three of us observing; her dad, me, and her section leader Lydia who made it a point to come and watch in a show of support.
At the end of the piece, she picked up her music and they handed her a card with one of four things written on it:
* "participant" and she'd get a certificate.
* "bronze" and she'd get a medal with a white ribbon.
* "silver" and she'd get a second place red ribbon with a medal.
* "gold" which would be a first place medal with a blue ribbon.
It said "Gold".
From the look on her face, she was not expecting it at all. In addition to the gold medal, I gave her a clarinet pin for her letter jacket. Here's their new home:
In conclusion, if you've never heard Polonaise being played on a clarinet (to music written for trumpet!) taking a "Gold"... your wait is officially over:
8 comments:
phone buzzing...I'm surfing my way here ...as the page loads, I check m.fb.com I see a message as the announcement is made in simulcast !
GOLD!!! dayum ...prodigy *may* be an understatement. Gratz!!!
Holy crap! Congrats to you, and to miniyou!
Congrats.. Great job
Congrats, MiniJet! Way to go!
Congratulations to Annie's daughter for the Gold. It's always nice when a family finally finds someone with talent.
That's almost word for word what I said. :p
Having listened to the piece played on the flute (previous post) and on the clarinet (Mini-You), I can say honestly and with no reservation that I prefer the latter. The clarinet is better suited to the tune, I think, and she played it slower, which kind of gives it a haunting dignity (strange words, maybe, but hey---it's my opinion)
I'd have given her gold, too.
Today, she starts learning oboe.
I'm sure at some point I'll video that, too. :p
Thanks for all the kind words, readers.
Post a Comment