These next few weeks are going to be a whirlwind of concerts for my 15 year-old trombone playing son! He’s a member of CYMO, an orchestra made up of students from a large portion of southern California. They rehearse every Sunday, and give 3-4 concerts each year. Wisely, the first one is in January, rather than trying to compete with the gazillion of school events that take place in November & December. This is Liam’s 3rd year with this group. In 8th grade he was in their training orchestra, and last year he played 2nd trombone with the main group. Now as a sophomore, he’s principal trombone and it’s great to hear how his playing strengthens each year!
Because they have a dress rehearsal right before the concert, Andrew, Logan and I have established of having an early pizza dinner at “Pizza n’ Such” in downtown Claremont:
It was a glorious afternoon and we had a lovely dinner! Soon enough, we were in “Little Bridges” hall, which is part of Pomona College. There’s Liam in the back row (all these pix were taken with my iPad, which although awesome, doesn’t have a lot of resolution for zooming in tons w/low light.)
The hall has a beautiful organ, I’d love for CYMO to do a piece that includes it someday…
We met up with the very happy Liam after the concert. The life of an orchestral trombonist intersperses long stretches of boredom with moments of terror! He played excellently, not “biffing” any notes in an exposed section or splitting any notes during the loud sections.
There’s going to be lots more driving in the next month, with more concerts at the end of some of those drives. These concerts are rewards for lots of hard work, and a glimpse into the future as well. 2 years from now he’ll be auditioning for conservatories and schools of music. Time accelerating…
2 Responses
You have every right to be proud of your son! He’s so handsome in a tux too! And the venue! Gorgeous!!!
Ah, the life of a musician’s mum! Congratulations, Liam.