Giovani Solisti - a first and her fourth last all in one

I am so grateful for this concert. Being a part of this orchestra was a dream for Anna since she was in fifth grade. Once, years ago Scott and I had a meeting after church. Anna and Abigail were in the room next to us - eating snack and writing on the huge white board. I saw this all these years ago and  took a quick phone picture. 

Auditioning for Solitsi was a four year process. I wrote about it back here and back here and back here and back here and back here is where I first posted about Solisti (I didn't even know how to spell it then!). When it was her last chance (the last audition before her senior year) she took a professional musicians course on auditioning. She was in the class with musicians that were auditioning for the Boston Symphony Orchestra! 

And then she got in! 

This last year in Solisti she was supposed to perform in multiple concerts spread throughout the school year. She was supposed to travel to Europe to play with the group. 

But Covid changed all that. But Covid didn't change anything. 

She was STILL in Solisti. They still rehearsed every single day. Every single day. They STILL had rehearsals on Thursday evenings until 9PM. They STILL worked and worked and worked to achieve such a high level of performance. 

And they did (even with Covid) have one concert. It was outside with a thunderstorm threatening and high winds blowing music everywhere. Even with clamps holding her music, she had to play those pieces with her elbow and pinky holding the music on her stand. Branches were blowing like crazy and leaves and sticks were falling in my lap. But she's played in the wind before. 

But

But it was a Soliti concert. And I got to hear every note. Every note she worked for - for years - ever since she decided she wanted to be in all those years earlier.

She worked so hard and I couldn't be more proud. 

Still so windy! 

I wrote a note to her conductor in this book. 

Dear Emmett,

Because she sat in the viola section of your orchestra since she was 10…

Because you taught at HARTT and in West Hartford…

Because she heard your love of orchestra over and over for years…

Because of even those piano ninja songs…

Because you took a chance and gave her a spot in Solisti…

she flourished, and thrived, and loved the sound of her viola mixed in with other instruments

Because you gave of yourself to our daughter…

she wants to continue to play because she learned that creating music with others

brings her heart peace and her life joy. 

Thank you Emmett for all you are and all you’ve been to our daughter Anna. 

We are grateful. 

And we certainly are... 

 

Morning Delights

This is one of the first things I see when I wake in the morning. Although at five in the morning it doesn't quite look like this... sun shining in... not always flowers... but today it was. 

I love the photos of the people in the background more than anything. They are mine. 

Within the Blessed Virgin "there are untold riches, beauties, rarities and delights...There are flower-beds studded with a variety of beautiful flowers of virtue, diffusing a fragrance which delights even the angels." - St. Louis de Montfort

Group Class Concert ~ the third last

Her Suzuki group class teacher since she was five years old. 

This was a beautiful concert with the older group (tour group) playing on stage and the other students (Abigail included) playing on the grass right with their families. 

Anna has been performing in a 'group class concert' twice a year since kindergarten. It will feel so strange next year without her. 

So proud of her efforts - especially this year. 

Intermezzo Concert

 It was Abigail's turn now... 

Abigail's private Suzuki orchestra met on Zoom every week this school year. This concert was really a miracle. They never met in person. *** It's an ORCHESTRA!*** The whole point of playing in an orchestra is the 'together' part. 

So when the conductor raised his baton to conduct we all held our breaths and we so surprised at how beautiful it sounded. 

Children can overcome so much - and these children worked so hard this year. 

So proud of this little girl. 

Her Last High School Orchestra Concert ~ the second of the lasts

It was the perfect night - warm and sunny. The sunlight fading and lighting up Anna in her last High School orchestra concert. 

With all of these concerts I am so excited I almost don't know where to begin. It's like the world is waking up with a bang and I've got a front row seat. 

There are so many 'lasts' this spring and I am so grateful for these concerts. I treat each one as a celebration. I loved this one (back here). But something about seeing the entire high school orchestra in it's vast size made me swoon for the sound of strings. 

An outdoor Performing Arts Center was their stage and the setting was more picturesque than any auditorium I've seen a concert in. I am truly loving these outdoor events. 

Mother's Day

 Sweetest girls in the world that I get to mother... forever

Forever... that word has had some weight to it lately. I keep thinking that this was the last Mother's Day with Anna in childhood. 

Yes, of course, I don't magically think that she will graduate and be all grown up. Growing up and maturity takes a lifetime, and I will mother her, encourage her, teach her, guide her, mentor her forever. (that forever is a certain forever) 

But still. 

I thought back so much this year of the little ones they used to be with their cards and pride as they gave them to me. 

I am so grateful that I am still a mama in 'active mothering' with Abigail still at home next year. 

Grateful to still be doing laundry, mama.

Grateful to still check in with homework mama. 

Grateful to still make lunches mama. 

Grateful to still have to drive her mama. 

Grateful to still tell her it's time for a shower mama.

Grateful to cook mama.

Grateful to give nightly blessings and kisses at bedtime mama. 

I will hold on to being that 'active mama' for as long as I can.

Motherhood is such a precious gift. I do not take lightly what God has given me. After eight years of marriage... such a gift. 

And to Him, I am most grateful. 

The Home We Keep : goodness, light, beauty, and love

A simple scene of our dining room. Post Easter. Sunlight shining through on a morning that I happen to notice - on my way out the door - all of us on our way to school - I noticed and though how much I love dining rooms.

Photo Description: The morning sunlight streams in our dining room - a table filled vintage goodness, an old wicker picnic basket, wooden candle sticks, yellow roses holding the promise of opening soon, violet teacups that are perfect for spring, and the straw hat Anna wore when she was three. 💕

The long forgotten rooms in a home. I adore dining rooms - they are the loveliest. For the memories they keep. For the food that was shared. And let's be honest, sometimes the only room that is peaceful and tidy on a swirling day - I can always count on the dining room. 💕 

“I believe that every meal should be a celebration of life itself as we break bread and enter fellowship together. And the way those meals are planned, prepared, and served enhances the connection and the celebration. Every meal, in other words, should be a feast for the senses and the spirit." Sally Clarkson

Home is the place where all goodness, light, beauty, and love resounds; in words, in serving, in fellowship, in meals and feasting, in candlelight, in laughter, in memories, and yes, in a simple dining room strewn with sunlight.

Sunday Dinner

I will give life

through hospitality toward my little family

by ordering our home

by mentoring

through engaging

Sunday dinner was mostly {everything except for the braided loaf of bread I made} from my Anne of Green Gables cookbook

Simply amazing vegetable soup 

Hot, buttered, Tuscan, herb bread 

and homemade raspberry tarts for dessert 

Nurtured By Love : Her Suzuki Senior Recital - the first event of her 'end of senior year'

“Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens. If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline and endurance. They get a beautiful heart.”
― Shinichi Suzuki

Shinichi Suzuki was a musician, educator, philosopher, and founder of the Suzuki method for music education. 

He lived in Japan and believed that musical ability can be developed in all children. The technique is taught in pieces rather than dry, technical exercises. 

He believed in nurturing knowledge and ability through love. 

The Suzuki method is unique because there are three teachers: the Suzuki instructor, the parent, and the child. I am beyond grateful for finding the Suzuki method because I have been to every single one of Anna's lessons from her first to her last. For thirteen years. I am the note taker, the listener, the encourager. I have spent more hours than I could possibly count with my daughters and their violas. Time that could have been lost in the day to day of their childhood was captured and I was there, every moment. 

Some day I will tell the story of how I happened upon the Hartt School of Music and was captured by raising my daughters in the Suzuki method. 

It is more than learning 'how to play the viola' - it is about time time time time with them. It's a philosophy of raising children with a beautiful heart. (this is his book) 

And this evening - it was the culmination of all of this. I cried as she played, for it filled my heart. I never felt more close to Anna and more grateful to be her mama. 

(this photo was taken at the end of her first year of instruction - kindergarten was almost over - she was almost six years old - oh how I wish I had a photo of the first day)

(and this is her at the end of her senior year)

The concert: 

It was magnificent. 

Yes, it was on zoom - not in a theatre as we always thought it would be - but it was magical in its own way. 

And we are so grateful for the memory we now have in our hearts from this night. 

Once we knew it would for sure be a zoom senior recital I wanted to make it special. Last Sunday I rearranged all of the flowers we had into milk glass vases. I lit the candles and arranged some lights on the mantle. 

Elegant. Simple. Beautiful. 

Anna was sixth on the program and she was not playing a recording, but live. So after she played (and all of the nerves were relaxed and she could breathe again) I decided we'd celebrate and enjoy the rest of the concert with a family room tea party. 

I decorated the table with my vintage table cloths and plates.

I chose two different kinds of loose tea and prepared the pot. 

And I baked homemade raspberry vanilla scones from a recipe I found in Victoria magazine. 

And I made some homemade raspberry jelly (that Anna loves) The recipe was amazing. They were so different than anything I'd ever made in a scone. Lots of different layers - soft in the middle, scone texture on the outside. Pure heaven - and beautiful too. 

The recipe called for zero sugar (always good for me since I really have to watch sugar) but I served them also with organic honey. Delicious. 

Anna was excited but nervous about this concert - especially because all of her past viola teachers would be on the zoom call tuning in to this live performance. 

I have been listening to Anna play the viola for thirteen years. Thirteen! And we've never heard her play like this. She was magnificent. Words can't explain and the small recording on my phone just can't capture. But I will save it forever to listen to when I miss her music in my home. Just typing these words bring tears to my eyes. 

As soon as her piece was played she got texts from her beloved teacher, Lee Hadden and her current teacher, Melinda Daeuthch - both who teach the Suzuki method at the Hartt School of Music. 

This was the first event of her 'end of senior year'. And although I thought I'd feel sadness, I didn't. I felt deep pride and happiness. Such pride. Thirteen years of hard work and determination to get to this advanced level and skill at the viola. And what beautiful music she makes.

Thank you Anna for allowing me in your journey of music. You have given our family a gift - not just in your viola but with your heart. It is true, you have a beautiful heart. 

“Beautiful tone, beautiful heart.”
― Shinichi Suzuki