Summary: Last year at my daughter's band concert a flute player got up to play a solo. This was a middle school band, you know, 7th and 8th graders. Now, my middle schooler, I mean, she's amazing. But the rest? Well, it's a middle school band, you know? So I didn't hope for too much. I mean, mostly, if I'm being honest, I just hoped to stay awake. Truth be told, I don't know much about classical music. Some of you might think that's weird for a Lutheran pastor, but it's true. The teacher said the name of the piece, and I had no clue what it was. You might. It was Paganini's Caprice 24. I talked to my Dad about this later, he loves classical, and he said "That's a violin piece." I said, "Well, this kid did it on flute." "Huh," my Dad says. That's how you know my Dad is impressed, when he says "Huh." And it was impressive. No, it was more than that. It was amazing. I mean, this kid started playing, and that flute, man, he made it sing. The notes bounced and flew and the music soared and the flute sang and, I gotta tell you, it was unlike anything I had ever heard before. It really was. And the funny thing is, I can't remember the tune. Not at all. Not a lick. I just remember how it made me feel, the swooping and soaring and how intense and emotional it was. It was amazing. And I never, EVER, would have expected THAT from a middle school flute player. I mean, think about it. If you were looking for someone to play this piece of music, is that who you would have chosen? A kid who doesn't even shave? Who only picked up a flute up three years ago? Is that who you would have picked? No, you would have picked someone with experience. Someone who had played it before. Who had played in symphonies and orchestras and operas and all that classical stuff that I don't know about. You would have picked someone who knew what they were doing. You would not have picked a middle school flute player. I'm sorry, you just wouldn't. I wouldn't either.
