Sunday afternoon’s Christmas concert by the Beaufort County Community Orchestra will be the culmination of years of practice for its newest members.
This year, for the first time, young adults ranging in ages from 11 years old to 14 years old will sit in with the 30-piece orchestra.
The path to that stage was not the typical one. The students were trained in the Suzuki method. They learned to play the violin by ear, then later learned to read the music.
Their parents played an integral role to the process. They bought their own violins and learned to play the instrument, too.
Parent and child would attend weekly practices with instructor Dawn Pooser. Then, the parent would practice with and instruct the child every day.
Now, that’s a commitment. But it wasn’t anything new for this particular group of parents. The students are homeschooled.
Kudos to these parents for the hours of noise they endured so that we might hear what has matured into an hour of Christmas cheer.
You may hear the fruits of their efforts at 3 p.m. Sunday at First Christian Church, 401 E. Second St. in Washington.