Mark's Junior Horn Recital

When Mark announced that he would be giving his junior horn recital back in January, I prepped myself for what I knew would be a wild ride.  I can remember when I myself would take on some competition or performance back in my musically competitive days; it meant that my life until that performance would be completely dedicated to practicing.  And Mark was no different.

Too, there is a lot of mental preparation necessary.  It's easy to psyche yourself out as the day approaches.  There is always a negative voice in the back of your mind telling you that you aren't ready yet, and that you will NEVER be ready.  You start noticing how good everyone else is, and you start feeling that you will never play that well.  You wonder what bizarre thing will happen during the performance that has freaking never happened before, and you wonder how you will handle it when it does.  Yes, the struggle is real.  It's all about keeping everything together before you even set foot on stage.

Sad story, but every time I competed as a teenager and young adult, I drove myself to the competition or the performance, performed, and then drove myself back home.  There was no parental support for me at all.  It was always very anti-climactic, especially since I won most competitions that I entered.  In my attempt to parent in the complete opposite way that I was parented, I knew that we were going to make the most of this most awesome event.  I wanted people there so that Mark felt support.  I wanted fun food and conversation afterwards so that Mark wouldn't be alone.  And I wanted to be there for him after the euphoria of performing wore off to tell him what a great job he did if and when he would start to question his performance.

Mark sent out invitations a week before the performance.  I had been bugging him to get them out earlier (and I even thought that I would need to create the invites with Glo's help), but in the end, it all worked out.

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Mark had said that he was going to create something awesome, but I had no idea it would be this incredible!  I've seen the different ways kids advertise their recitals throughout the School of Music, and this one TAKES THE CAKE!  He was planning to play "The Dream of the Rhinoceros" by Trygve Madsen; hence the title of the recital :-)

See that address on the invite?  Yep, that's the old Green Road chapel.  I grew up in that chapel, and in fact, I learned to play the organ on that organ.  And funny story about that organ (that I am writing for posterity's sake now).  You rarely see an organ like that in any LDS chapel.  However, the bishop at the time, Bishop Nielsen, valued music, so when the chapel was being built, he decided that the organ needed to be something spectacular.  He had to fight for it, especially because it cut into the budget, and the size of the actual building was then reduced to accommodate the price of the organ.  However, it is the nicest organ I have ever played, and I needed no reminding on how to set the stops (or even turn it on) when I hopped up on the bench 25 years later.

This was the only picture I took at the recital (ugh...)  Baby came dressed to support Uncle Mark.
And see the organ?

The night before Mark's recital, Mark actually had a Symphony Band concert.  Not the best timing, but he worked it out.  It was a crazy long concert, but it was all worth it in the end when we got to meet Allison, Mark's girlfriend.  (You'll notice no picture, because Mark won't allow it.)

We went out for pizza afterwards at Pieology which just so happens to be around the corner from Hill Auditorium.  Beth and Chris joined us, so we were a large group.

The next morning, we slept in enough that Mark wouldn't be tired throughout the day, but we got up early enough that the boys could go for a run.  Musicians always find things that work for them the day of a performance, and Mark has discovered that a three-mile run before a performance does wonders for his playing.  Yep, the boys will never live down their hatred of running as children :-)

After the run, we headed to Grand Traverse Pie Company for some fun food.  Gosh, we sure do love Baby, and obviously John felt the need to support the Boy by his choice of shirt :-)

We knew that at least 25 people would show up from the horn studio, and we figured the Kennedys would come out in force (which they did).  However, it was very touching to see a family of two boys on the rowing team that Mark coaches show up, as well as Dr. Makin and his family, a professor of Russian who thinks the world of our boys.  We were planning on around 40 people coming, which, for a junior recital, is A LOT of people.  However, I think in the end, we had close to 50, and unbeknownst to me, when Mark walked out to begin his recital, seeing all those people played with his nerves just a bit.

Too (and I know I'm not allowed to say much about this) Allison, was there.  In fact, she ended up spending most of the weekend with our Big, Fat, Kennedy family :-)  What a delight she was, dressed to kill, and there to support the Boy.  She came armed with cookies which were gone in seconds, and she held her own, talking to everyone around and not letting on that she and Mark are dating.  Okay, the censors will black out anything else I say if I write more....

The recital was HUGE.  In other words, it was much more like a senior recital.  There was over an hour of music, and for a brass player, that is a heck of a long time to play.  We all had the same reaction though--the music was WEIRD.  I know, I know, that's not a very nice thing to say, but it's true.  And it was NECESSARY.  Horn music that sounds pretty, and that we all like, just isn't very challenging for college-level horn players.  It's the modern stuff that is difficult.

Too, and this was the hardest thing to watch as a parent of a brass player, Mark is still working through some issues with his teeth.  He's been to a see an oral surgeon several times now, and he's working on issues with excruciating pain when he plays.  We've put off surgery until this recital, but it was obvious that the pain is affecting his playing.  I hadn't appreciated how much until I saw him struggle during one of the pieces.  I had never seen him struggle like that when he was in high school, and I knew it then:  the writing is on the wall.  He needs surgery.  

However, music never fails to teach life lessons, and I know Mark will be stronger because of the lessons learned from this recital.  In John's words, it was amazing to see him press on through it all.  He could have stopped, he could have made excuses, but he didn't.  He was the proud champion of the saying "the show must go on".

One of the happiest moments for me was after the recital, when we were all in the overflow chowing down on Panera sandwiches, Cherry Republic pop, fruit kabobs and GTPC pies, Mark walked in to applause.  Yep, everyone dropped what was in their hands and clapped for him.  I know this may be standard procedure, but he so deserved it.

And in the end, I walked away from the recital so proud of Mark.  Yes, he made it through the recital like a boss, but in the end, I was proud of him for more than that.  I sat in the back row of that chapel so proud of my boy.  I looked at him and I saw a man up there.  And afterwards, it was one compliment after another about the good person that he is.  One of his horn teachers was telling me that Mark always comes into his lessons, ready to work and with a positive attitude (I have recently discovered that many horn students come into lessons trying to "distract" the teacher with conversation so that they don't need to play.  What a waste of time and money!  Too, Professor Makin (and his wife) couldn't praise Mark enough.  They told me that his Russian is perfect ("no accent at ALL," and this coming from a native Russian), and that they are so proud of all that he does in his life (knowing that Mark rarely has a moment to breathe).  In fact, Mark held a long conversation with them in the middle of all the hubbub in freaking Russian.  I had a few minutes to talk with the two boys that he coaches, and I could tell that they think the WORLD of him.

As Mark said, all of his worlds collided in the chapel that day.  His Russian world, his church world, his horn world, his rowing world, his family, and his dear girlfriend.  And as John said afterwards, no one could deny the LOVE that was in that room.  So many people there for Mark, because, in all honesty, they love him.  He gives so much, and is so kind, and has such a tender soul, and we were happy to throw a little bit of that love back at him.

And thankfully it's all over...until next year.