Gold

Cameron participated in his first band contest since he started playing the oboe.  He practiced a lot this week and felt ready for it.  Meg couldn't believe that he wasn't more excited.  She loved every one of the band contests she participated in during her middle school years.  On the way over she filled the van with stories of playing in the band and the fun she had.  For her it wasn't as much about perfecting the clarinet, but more of hanging out with her friends.

We dropped Cam off at 1:30 and headed to Kohl's and Target to fill time before his 2:30 performance.  We arrived back to Goshen Middle School just as the group before him finished.  We found seats on the right side of the auditorium so that I could watch Cam play.  In every other concert that he has had I have chosen the wrong seat and ended up with my view of him blocked by his teacher.  This time he assured me that he would not change seats and thankfully he was correct.

The band played three songs and sounded great.  There was a wind instrument that squeaked several times during the first two songs.  Meg and I assumed that would lead to them earning a silver, but it was the only major flaw that we heard.  Once they finished we met Cam outside the gym and started on our trip to Illinois.  Cam felt pretty good about how he played and thought that they had performed better than their preview concert on Tuesday.

About an hour into our trip I decided I'd try emailing Ms. Good to see how they finished.  She quickly responded with "Gold."  We were happy for Cam and his classmates.  They had really improved since December and it was obvious.  Meg couldn't believe it as her two years at ISMAA only produced a silver and a bronze.  I am proud of Cam for playing a challenging instrument.  He has worked hard this winter to improve his skills and it paid off today.