Mar 13, 2013

Strings and Bows



Young Eloise is a keen little music person whose enthusiasm is considerable if not entirely unparalleled and whose adeptitude is potential and eminently hone-able. For those of you clinically unable to read between lines, what I mean to say is that she's keen but tone-deaf.

Damn though, we had to fight like cats in bags waiting to drown to have that child unwittingly negotiate the serpentine bureaucracy of the Infernal School. Our first application went missing, our second application filed directly into the pigeonhole went missing, then the teacher went missing, then the replacement teacher had to be contacted through the auspices of a well-placed third party before finally getting that child a place in the apparently legendary (though potentially mythical) Strings Programme.

A contract had to be signed by the child and countersigned by a responsible adult before being witness in triplicate guaranteeing that practice would be carried out and excitement maintained and all lessons, ensembles and activities attended upon pain of excommunication.

And Eloise duly began her lessons and ensembles and has practiced, if not religiously then at least enthusiastically, waning toward dutifully, edging towards sometimes. But then what can you expect when all they give her are tunes you have to play with open strings.

Anyway she went on a Strings Camp at Windsor School for a day and we were invited to attend the performance of a concert in the afternoon. To be honest we were expecting the worst, and while we couldn't actually source gumshields, we were certainly expecting to have to grit our teeth whilst the sixty-odd violins, violas, cellos and double-basses attempted to play together.

But as it turned out it wasn't actually too bad! Of course with open strings tuning wasn't exactly awful and though timing could have been better, it wasn't quite shocking. We were velly preased!

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