The Audience

This afternoon our faculty member Florin Paul and the orchestra earned ecstatic rounds of applause from a very special audience.

Children from local elementary schools visited our Rehearsal Camp in Chiayi. There were 40 guests in all, including teachers who eagerly explained how their students were learning to play an instrument - the violin, viola, or cello.

"Xiǎo xīn, Xiǎo xīn," their chaperones chided as the excited children entered the auditorium. "Watch where you're going. Be careful!" The orchestra's large, shiny instruments on stage captured the children's attention. The sounds coming from different instruments as final preparations were under way on stage held them in awe.

At last, quiet. The children had settled into their seats. A smiling Mr. Paul stood up to perform, his violin and bow in hand. With the orchestra, his performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto began.

There's something about expressions of delight on children's faces that say a lot. This afternoon they seem to reveal how one day in the near future a child or two in this audience will make true their newly found dream of passing auditions to perform with the AYO. 


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