Tom's Violin Debut

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Emma and I had the very great pleasure of watching Tom play the violin in his very first concert this morning. I was positively brimming with pride! Tom's class have only been learning the violin for 10 weeks and have made incredible progress during that time. They played four pieces on the violin and also sang us a song. To perform all that in front of not only their parents, but also the entire school (staff and pupils) after only a few weeks of learning is a testament to both the skill of the violin teacher and the commitment of the pupils. I am very, very proud of Tom for doing so well. 

The sad thing is that, having made such incredible strides, Tom's class now have to pass their violins on to another class, so no more violin for Tom. This is, I think, an incredible shame. Tom has expressed an interest in carrying on with the violin, so Mark and I are going to look into the practicality (and crucially the cost) of a small violin and lessons. It is my great hope that each of the Podlings will want to learn at least one instrument. I know that Lily would love piano lessons (we have been holding off as we think she lacks the patience required at the moment).

Mark plays the piano and I play the piano and the flute, so it would be lovely if the children were musical too. I believe that learning an instrument not only gives great pleasure, it also teaches valuable lessons in discipline, dedication and commitment. I have to confess I had rather hoped they would choose instruments we already owned (piano, flute or guitar...my sister started to teach me the guitar, but I left home before we had got very far. I still hope to learn someday). However, if Tom really is serious about wanting to learn the violin, then it is certainly worth looking into. We would need to be sure that he would stick at it before we rushed into anything, so we will see.

I took some video from the concert this morning. Tom is in the front row, second from the right. I'm so proud of my boy!

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