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| Here he is with Jannis before the audition. |
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| Sporting the ribbon and pin he received afterward! Note the Beethoven action figure in his hands. |
Why is a mindset still there?
2 months ago
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Guild Audition!!!
This morning Ben had his first guild audition, an annual event where he plays for a member of the Piano Teacher's Guild (not his own teacher) and gets feedback. He did wonderfully!!!!! As of a few weeks ago, he was very worried about the fact that Jannis, his teacher, and I wouldn't be in the room with him -- just him and the guild member. But once he found out that the guild auditions take place in Mason Hall, the music building on campus, so that he would be playing in a piano studio on campus just like a college student, he was sold. Last week we had his lesson in the studio so that he could get used to it. And this morning he marched in without even looking back. Jannis and I listened from out in the hall. He played four pieces, and he nailed 'em!!!
In other news, we had an audiology appointment this afternoon at which we got to look at and handle the new waterproof Neptune CI processor from Advanced Bionics. It was pretty sweet! It's a body worn processor, just like his current one, so there's nothing behind the ear, but it's much smaller and lighter than the one he has now -- no need for the bulky harness and a hot undershirt. And it's ... totally waterproof!!! As in you can swim in it! When we were talking about it a few weeks ago, Ben was rather hostile to the idea -- I think he was worried that it would sound different. (And in fact another big plus is that it can use the ClearVoice processing strategy that's been getting rave reviews for improved hearing in noise.) But when he saw it today, he was pretty interested. By the time we got home, he said that he would really like to be able to hear in the water. The upgrade offer that AB is making isn't attractive to us -- we would have to trade in his (currently unused) Harmony BTE processor for the Neptune, whereas we'd rather keep that as a back-up and unload the neolithic PSP processor that he's been using. Our insurance company probably isn't going to be very enthusiastic, either, but we're going to see what we can arrange.
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6 comments:
Yay for Ben!! Congratulations on the Piano Guild audition! And it's really interesting that he's starting to take an interest in and have opinions on his own equipment. :)
Can I just tell you how much I love the fact that your son has a Beethoven action figure? Just awesomeness. [As is waterproofing too, of course. And blue ribbons]
I've said it before and I'm gonna say it again..Ben is amazing!
Congratulations, Ben! I love the fact that he has Mozart and Beethoven action figures. I am impressed that he went before the judges and played - such a brave boy!
"Mommy Boot Camp" is just a group of moms in this area that are getting together this summer to give our kids a little extra "boost" before school next year. My dear friend has four children who all need a little extra boost in motor skills and some reading skills, so we're combining efforts. We have some reading/writing activities planned (like a "spy party" involving writing with invisible ink, etc) focused on the reading/writing aspect, and some field trips planned for good motor exercise. Trips to the creek, playgrounds, playing hopscotch, making obstacle courses, etc. The reading/writing is targeted more toward Matt (though Nolan will do it, too), and the motor skills more toward Nolan.
We are going to get a balance bike for Nolan, because I can see that learning to ride a two-wheeler will be a major task!
Ben has a great balance bike, by Kazam. He loves it. Just this morning we took a family bike ride to a local playground. Ben was never good at peddling at tricycle -- weak core strength, I think. He's come a long way, especially with the PT he's gotten this past year, but it's still nice to focus on balance and steering without worrying about pedals.
Go Ben!! Hoping you'll get lucky with insurance coverage of the Neptune. You never know until you try!
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