Suzuki Recital

Kelsey & Sheryl Lloyd, Jack & Michael's Suzuki instructors

The annual recital was lovely, watching the boys deliver their hard-practiced pieces. Mrs Lloyd is somewhat old school, placing great focus on formal perfection with an eye towards performance. It can be grueling, as Carolyn becomes the taskmaster, all the while hoping self-motivation will kick in. The danger of excellence is that it can produce a few failures, as well, sometimes killing the love for music.

Michael really loves performance - a ham at heart.

Jack nailed it at the rehearsal, but his eyes tended to stray into the audience.

Still, I'm amazed he actually sounds OK.

Michael's school, Beacon Hill Classical Academy, is thinking of offering piano lessons as a part of the curriculum next year. Classical Christian meets Chinese pragmatism, believing in the value of persistence, deferred pleasure, & the high correlation between musical training and mathematics (the annual meeting of the American Mathematical Society features numerous free concerts, since many AMS members are amateur musicians). After a year of practices, the annual recital is all about the payoff - the pleasure - for parents & child.