Since things ARE going slow here, I’m going to take the opportunity to do
some parental gushing. If you can’t stand this kind of thing, avert your
eyes.
A few days ago my kids did the annual NYSSMA exam (that’s New York State
School Music Association). Danny played piano, Nellie her violin.
Danny got an EXCELLENT after many months of effort at mastering a tricky
Mozart sonatina. The grading for piano is Outstanding, Excellent, Good,
Satisfactory, Fair, Needs Improvement. So my boy was near the top.
The grading system is different for violin. Nellie got A-plus, which is the
absolute highest grade. Her points were 98 out of 100. She just lost a
couple for insufficient vibrato.
Let’s hear it for the Derb kids, who put a lot of hard work into those
results.