I volunteered tonight at my daughter’s symphony chair auditions. My task was to walk the children of the cello section from rehearsal to a small private room with a judge and back to rehearsal, one at a time. These kids’ ages ranged from 12 to 14 and there were eight of them.

They were nervous.

Six of them told me they didn’t practice enough. One of them told me he would fail.

I urged them to breathe deeply and think positively. But they weren’t having it!

Their pessimism surprised me. These kids attend rehearsal once a week, most coming from other cities 30 minutes away or more. They take private lessons.

It goes to show that two important factors necessary for confidence in performance: preparation and positivity.

Still, watching young kids work so hard to make beautiful music together warms the heart!

I love my friend’s reaction to her son when his audition was over.

He walked out of his audition, stretched his arms out and shouted, “I sucked!”

She said, “Well, let’s go out for ice cream then.”

And they did.