Bass Players ROCK

I've been terribly neglectful of both of my blogs. Busy lives and other writing projects have kept me away. Here's a little update.

During the Christmas season, Sam had his first bass violin recital. His teacher, Nancy Bjork, is amazing. She's worth the drive, once a week, to South Minneapolis. She has an approach that works so well with Sam. Gentle and encouraging, with just the right amount of push. We love her. We can see why she's the best in the Twin Cities and why she's widely respected internationally. Her dedication to bass violin shines through in her love and enthusiasm. And because it's all that she does, she's attentive, available, and totally focused. I interviewed a few teachers that are closer to our house, but Nancy was the best fit. We're so thankful for her.

Our Luthier, Mike Smith, is Mrs. Bjork's stand partner. For an instrument, so big, the community is so very small. It's great fun to be a part of it, even in this very tiny way.

The recital was really nice. It was fun to see the older and younger students and get to know some of the parents that I dodge when vying for parking spots in Minneapolis' slowly shrinking winter snow emergency streets. It was a great learning experience for Sam and we've seen definite growth in his confidence, performance, and technique. Plus, bass players have great attitude. There's a coolness factor there that just isn't present in those piddly little instruments. (ha!) So, to see a group of kids with this attitude was awesome.

He, as always, doesn't like to be the center of attention. Perfect personality for a bass player. They don't need to be the star, but without their instrument, the music would be lacking and flat and you'd really wonder what was wrong. Thanks to Nancy, though, for finding melodies for the recital. It's not often that we get to appreciate the bass in that way.

Proud mom and dad here.