"Good Job, Rebecca!"

- DVMTA Piano Competition

Summer comes early in Arizona. In early April, the weather is already as warm as 90⁰F. Mommy kind of likes the warm weather because the kids don’t get sick very often and she also can put beautiful summer dresses on her two princesses.

It was Saturday. The weather was warm. Rebecca had a piano competition in the morning. Mommy put on Rebecca the white dress Aunt Lu bought her. Her hair was combed into a bun. A little black jacket and black Mary Jane shoes matched the white dress and hair pretty well. Rebecca was as beautiful as a princess. Around 10:30 am, Daddy, Mommy, Rebecca and Gabby set out for Arizona Piano where the competition took place. Gabby fell asleep in the car. When she woke up, the first thing she asked was her sister's piano competition. She is a little fan of Rebecca. Daddy, Mommy, Aunti, Grandpa and Grandma are all Rebecca's fans, too.

The competition was organized by Desert Valley Music Teacher Association (DVMTA). It was grouped by the players' levels. Rebecca was in Level 6. The competition she participated one month ago was organized by East Valley Music Teacher Association (EVMTA) and that one was grouped by the ages. At that time Rebecca won the 3rd place in her group (7 and under).

They arrived at 11:00 am, about 30 minutes earlier than Rebecca’s time to play. There was no warm-up time before the competition. Rebecca met her friend, Jessica. Rebecca knew her at AWANA. She was about the same age as Rebecca but was in Level 2. She had already played her pieces and was waiting with her Mom for the results to be announced. Rebecca and Jessica were happy to see each other. They played together while waiting at the front desk area. They also met Rebecca He who was one and 1/2 years older than Rebecca but was also in Level 6. Mommy began to be aware that it would not be an easy competition for Rebecca.

Rebecca’s piano teacher, Ms Judith, also came to the competition site. She did that in all the competitions. Her students were glad to see her. If there was warm-up time, she would instruct her students to play their pieces right before the competition. This gave them a lot of support and encouragement.

The competition took place in a room with a piano and some judges. The contestants were numbered. The first contestant walked in to play. After he/she was done, he/she walked out and the second contestant walked in. Any other people were not allowed in. The glass door was covered with paper so that people outside can see nothing inside. This setup was different from that at EVMTA’s competition where the competition took place in a big room with a lot of seats and all the parents and friends were allowed to go in and listen. Rebecca said afterwards that when she was playing she imagined she was playing to Mommy just like she usually did at home.

Rebecca was the second one in her group to play. After the competition of her group began, Rebecca was allowed to wait right outside the room where the competition took place. Rebecca was nervous. Mommy thought it was good to be a little nervous because it could help her to concentrate. Holding Rebecca's hands, Mommy told her to play as if she played to Mommy at home. Mommy also told her it was ok if she made any mistake and Mommy would still be proud of her for getting through the competition.

Mommy and Ms Judith watched through the edges of the paper on the glass door when Rebecca was playing. In her mind Mommy asked God to help Rebecca not to make any mistake. She first played the Clementi piece and then the Chopin piece. She was wonderful. Mommy didn't notice any mistake. She thought it was the best performance she had ever heard. “Good job!” Ms Judith smiled and greeted Rebecca when she walked out of the competition room.

They left right after Rebecca played her pieces. Ms Judith said she would call Mommy. They went to a buffet restaurant for lunch. After lunch they went to swim at Fitness Works. In the evening Mommy called Ms Judith and got to know Rebecca didn’t get a prize this time. It was ok. Daddy and Mommy were still proud of her. The competition was not easy. Rebecca had worked hard to get to this level. Mommy told Rebecca this news. She was ok with this news, too.

No matter whether Rebecca got a prize or not, it was pleasant to dress her up like a princess and listen to her playing some beautiful music on a warm Saturday morning, wasn’t it? And also a wonderful lunch to enjoy after that.