I kept Evelyn and Willa at home last year during her recital, so I haven't heard her play along side her peers in two years. I've heard her practice plenty at home. She practices every day, so I know how she plays. I just haven't heard what other children her age sound like in a long time.
(I'll warn you now that I'm about to brag on my child. If you don't want to hear it, I don't blame you. You can skip the rest, and go browse YouTube now.)
Mary Grace is good. If I do say so myself, she's really good. She plays the right notes and right rhythms of course. But her musical understanding and expression comes from somewhere deep inside. When she plays, she means it and makes the audience feel it. I don't know how else to describe it. Her solo blew me away.
Then she played a really cute duet with Jason (who gets tons of credit for working with her nearly every single day, going with her to every lesson, and playing for her and the twins as much as he can.)
Then came the piece that impressed me more than anything else. She played a duet arrangement of Frere Jacques with another little boy. He played the somewhat easier melody line while she played the accompaniment. She counted them off and started the piece, following his tempos, slowing down when he did, and speeding up when he did. Pretty awesome for an 8 year old! Then after a few measures, he got a little lost and stopped playing. Uh oh. So Mary Grace did what any professional musician would do and VAMPED! That means she had the wherewithal to play the last few notes over and over until the other child came back in, then as soon as he started playing, she immediately was right with him and along they went. What?! Who taught her to do that?! Jason says, she "just knew what to do." Pretty amazing...if I do say so myself.
If you want to see the video of the recital, go to http://gallery.me.com/schayot/100114
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