Kerry's Junior Recital

I have been back from Kerry's recital for almost two weeks and this is the first time I've gotten a chance to write about it and post some of the pictures.

It was a fantastic weekend and we were thrilled to see our girl. She looked great but was definitely nervous when we got there on Thursday night. It turned out that her clarinet choir had a concert that night. It was nice to sit in a big concert hall and listen to the kid play her clarinet with all the other underclassmen and graduate students. There were 32 of them and they really played well.

The UF Music Building

The UF Institue of Food LOL

During the concert Kerry's professor, Mitchell Estrin, came out and performed Motzart's clarinet concerto. Professor Estrin has played with the NY Philharmonic for many years and still plays with them today. He has many performances on DVD and CD and I guess he is like a rock star in the clarinet world. Pat and I recognized the music because Kerry had played it in ninth grade and we joked about how much better ninth grade Kerry was than Professor Estrin. LOL It was a real unexpected treat to hear him play.

Kerry and her very proud dad

Kerry's recital was the next day and although she had been pretty nervous earlier in the day when the time actually came she was suprisingly calm. She wore a long black dress that was very silvery so it sparkled every time she moved. She also wore her black high heels that we bought just for this event.

Kerry's favorite shoes

Kerry dressed and ready to go

She had a pretty full house and she was very happy with the turnout. She walked out on stage and played for a full hour(no pictures allowed). She was absolutely fantastic and got a standing ovation. Everyone came over to her to congratulate her and she also got quite a few flowers at the end of the performance. Professor Estrin came over and told her how proud he was of her. She was very happy with her performance which is highly unusual. It turned out that she didn't have to do this recital. She chose to do it. Professor Estrin said that it was going to answer some life questions for her. I think he was right.

We also got the pleasure of spending time with Kerry's boyfriend. His name is Sean and he is studying at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He is a very talented French Horn player. We hope to see him perform one day as the first chair in the New York Philharmonic or maybe the London Symphony Orchestra which would work for me. LOL He is a very sweet guy and they seemed very happy.

Kerry and Sean

Pat and I were very proud of our only daughter. I still am amazed at how well she did, how beautiful she looked and how far she has come in just a few years. She never fails to amaze me with her determination, talent and drive. There is no doubt in my mind that she can do anything that she sets her mind to. Isn't that right, Dr Peewee? We love our girl.