We have had a lull.  I was in Japan for a week, then Oregon, and after two weeks we finally had part of a weekend to catch up.  Unfortunately, we won’t make much progress for another week.  Tuesday night Paul is playing a solo in the Wind Symphony concert. Paul earned his solo spot by winning the best percussion solo at Naperville North’s solo and ensemble contest with Musser’s Etude in C major.  He has since recorded his solo, so he can use it for his audition tape that will be sent to Birch Creek summer music camp.  Then… Jazz Band leaves Wednesday for New Orleans.  He won’t return until 3:00pm Sunday.  He is learning the life of a musician all quickly.

The QuickTime video below takes a while to download.  Patience?  The video clearly answers the question “Why build a marimba?”.  Despite the look of total intensity in Paul’s eyes, he absolutely loves playing it. He cannot imagine going the summer without one.  He plays the school marimba each day at lunch and 2 or 3 times a week after school.  He has also started imagining putting together an album of Chopin Nocturne pieces over the summer.

So the only thing we had time for today was a quick Continue reading →