The End is Near

College Majors Music Major
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<p>We leave tomorrow for Ohio, for D's senior recital. Last kid in college, and it's almost over. (Made the last tuition payment this month!) She's played violin since she was 6 - nearly 16 years. It's the end of an era.</p>

<p>She has appreciated the opportunity to devote herself to music for four years, and has admitted that she wished she'd gotten the "passion" sooner. She's good, but she's not at a level to make full time income on performance, so once she graduates, she will be pursuing something else.</p>

<p>I expect that I will occasionally hear her play in church, or perhaps someday she will join a community orchestra or chamber group. But life as we have known it is coming to an end, and it's a real bitter sweet feeling. No longer can she avoid doing things she doesn't want to because she "has to practice!" She will probably be able to buy plane tickets now without worrying about what they'll do to her violin. She is faithful and diligent about practicing, but once she doesn't have to, I expect it to become merely a hobby at best.</p>

<p>I am looking forward to the recital. One of her brothers arrived today. The other will arrive just before the recital and leave just after. He's written one of the pieces she is playing, and is coming in to accompany her, then heading out to an audition. She's also playing Bach's Chaconne, Saint Saens Sonato #1, and Ferdinand the Bull (with a drama student helping out.) I can't wait. An aunt, uncle, two cousins, and two grandparents will also be attending.</p>

<p>Most of you here are just beginning the journey. Enjoy it; it goes so fast! Seems like we only just finished agonzing over which college she should attend! Now we get to start wondering what she'll do next.</p>

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<p>Brava Binx! Well done!</p>

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<p>Hi binx, best of luck to your daughter and the rest of the family! Please stay on board, I always appreciate your wisdom.</p>

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<p>Oh, no, binx! Over so soon! How can that be? Yes, please please stay on the forum–all you have given us has been so much appreciated! We still need you here for a long time to come. Good luck to your D!</p>

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<p>While the title lead me to believe you might have cracked the Mayan calendar code, or had a fresh view of Nostradamus’ quatrains, I should have known better.</p>

<p>Look at it this way… no more tuition payments.</p>

<p>Enjoy. You’re an old timer at this point. You never even posted about recital fare. ;)</p>

<p>Tell S2 best of luck with the audition.</p>

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<p>Congrats Binx!! I hadn’t heard of Ferdinand the Bull and just looked it up-- what a great graduation recital program.</p>

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<p>Enjoy the bittersweet moment!</p>

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<p>Congratulations to your daughter, good luck to your son, and please come back to post again!</p>

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<p>Thanks for the kind words.</p>

<p>Glassharmonica - I had to do the same thing. There’s an awesome youtube with Simon and Agnes Mauer playing it. Very fun to watch, especially with her accent (Dutch?)</p>

<p>Violadad - I never posted about recital fare? surely I must have! - We will have violin shaped sugar cookies, brownie cookies, oatmeal cookies, pretzels and veggies and spinach dip, cheese and crackers, Strawberries and chocolate dip, Swedish meatballs, and red velvet cupcakes. And cans / bottles of Coke, Tab, Water, and Juice. Y’all are invited! :)</p>

<p>(I only made the first two kinds of cookies. My friends Sam and Ikea made everything else. :wink: )</p>

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<p>I am reading this as we get ready for DD’s senior recital this afternoon. Where did the time go? For us though her journey is just beginning really as she is going to try to make her career music. We are done with tuition too though. She is managing the recital reception herself. We are here to enjoy the final results of these 4 years :)</p>

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<p>Singersmom07, enjoy.</p>

<p>Best of luck to her.</p>

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<p>Binx-</p>

<p>I have to say I love the spirit of your post, what both you and your D seem to be displaying. A lot of people see studying music as this thing you do only if you are absolutely sure you can make it in music, and that if you study music and it doesn’t work out that that is ‘failure’, and a lot of people and students give up…and if the kid studies music, and it doesn’t work out, the attitude IME is commonly one of regret, wasting time, etc. It is nice to see someone like your D acknowledge that she isn’t going to go into music but not regret at all the path she took, and it is great to see parents who don’t see that time as ‘wasted’, that they realize (as I do, which of course makes them super smart, incredible people <em>lol</em>) that the journey itself is valuable and is not a ‘waste’. Friend of mine where I work was a music student, decided he wasn’t good enough, is working as a quant and is probably making more money then the kids who chose “real” things to study in college:). Someone with your D’s attitude will go far and while I understand the sadness you must be feeling as one of the last ties to childhood breaks (I get that every time I look at my S, who is now taller then I am and very much a young man, and he isn’t even in college yet), but it also must be exciting to get to see the last fledgling fly:)</p>

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<p>Congrats on the end of an era in tuitions, and I also love that your daughter enjoyed the journey. </p>

<p>p.s. I learned a new word from musicprnt:</p>

<p>quant - An expert in the use of mathematics and related subjects, particularly in investment management and stock trading.</p>

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<p>Congrats! And when you are feeling a little teary, just remember that that the vaacum tube that has been hooked up from the college to your checking account is about to be disconnected!</p>

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<p>Snowflake-</p>

<p>Yeah, they are the rocket scientists of the investment world, trading and such these days is not based on gut feel any more , the way they do these things is incredible. I understand the underlying theory, but the math gets tangled pretty fast. Traders and such used to think they were the golden children, these days a good quant (quantitative analyst I believe is the full term) can write their own ticket. Downside is, they also can lay an egg of lead as easily as gold, it is basically what happened with the whole securitized mortgage debt market, everyone was using a model that had more holes in it then a piece of swiss cheese, and it literally was at the core of the economic implosion we are in. Same thing almost happened in the late 90’s, when a hedge fund, who had one of the guys who created the scholes-black model of risk pricing, on board, and were flying high, then ran into heavy seas and sank:)</p>

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<p>So a footnote to the senior recital - and a note for folks doing them in the coming years. We hooked up Skype for non-traveling Grandma. Took the computer and put it on a music stand that was set up horizontally in the front row. A friend of hers monitored it for her. Not only did Grandma see the recital, DD saw Grandma in the front row! It was like she was there. It was special for both of them. Highly recommend it.</p>

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<p>Love the Skype idea! Thanks.</p>

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<p>Great idea singersmom07! Never even thought of doing that.</p>

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<p>I think instead of the “Senior Member” distinction, we should ask cc to accommodate our request for the title AlumniMusicMom ;)</p>

<p>Congrats, Binx, and best wishes/cheers to beautiful music for your D.</p>

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<p>Follow-up: The recital was a couple weeks ago. We arrived Saturday just in time to witness a Skype rehearsal - S2 coaching D through the piece he’d written for her. </p>

<p>Saturday night (1 a.m.) we had a little trouble with a drunk in the hall outside our hotel room, who got rather agitated by my request to quit hollering. Police ended up escorting her and her husband elsewhere, but kinda ruined our night.</p>

<p>S2 left his home at 4 a.m. to begin day of travel. Texted us at 10-ish to say his connecting flight was delayed an hour. Called a few minutes later to say it was delayed another hour. Making it in time for the recital was going to be very close. He called just a few minutes after that to say the flight had been cancelled all together and he was stranded several states away. (Side note - never, ever fly when S2 is flying if you can help it.)</p>

<p>He was enroute to an audition, and happened to get stranded in the same state as the audition, so we told him to cancel the rest of his flights and rent a car and just go to the audition. But there were no rentals available. He ended up taking a shuttle to another state, to rent a broken down Kia, and drove slowly to the audition city. Arrived at his destination around 10 or 10:30 p.m. frazzled and frustrated.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, we called D to let her know what was happening; she spent much of the morning in tears. Had to drop S2’s piece from the program. But pulled herself together and still managed nearly an hours worth of music, and teacher said it was enough. She played very well (IMHO), especially considering the drama (or trauma) of the morning. She looked and sounded great, and no one besides her teacher and family knew anything was wrong.</p>

<p>S2’s audition didn’t go as well as we’d hoped, but considering the Sunday he had, we thought it was an accomplishment that he made it to semis.</p>

<p>D would like to plan another recital here at home, perhaps at the end of summer when S2 is here, so they can perform his piece. Ferdinand went over quite well, so she’d like to do it again, too. I’m all for anything that would keep her playing.</p>

<p>Love the idea of the Skype concert. Will keep it in mind if the end of summer recital happens, as I doubt relatives would attend. However, they are also thrilled with videos. I’ve heard Grandpa watches his about a dozen times a day.</p>